January 20 (SeeNews) - Bucharest's office space rental market grew by 7% last year, boosted by increased demand for new spaces, real estate company ESOP Consulting said on Monday.
Demand rose by 11% compared to 2018, ESOP Consulting said in a press release.
Companies leased 385,800 sq m of space in the Romanian capital last year. The main driver of the rentals market was the new demand segment, which accounted for 308,000 sq m of office space in 2019.
"2019 was better than the previous year, mainly due to high demand for office spaces which matched the opportunities offered by the market," ESOP Consulting and CORFAC International managing partner Alexandru Petrescu said.
The biggest transaction of 2019 was the lease of a 28,000 sq m office space , in northern Bucharest by video game company Ubisoft.
Record deliveries of office buildings in 2019 contributed to the increase of the market for corporate services spaces. In the last quarter of 2019, there were several transactions involving large providers of services, such as gym network operator World Class, which pre-rented spaces in three major office buildings in Bucharest: Oregon Park, Sema Park and Campus 6.
During 2019, food chain Stradale and Carrefour supermarket also rented spaces in new office buildings.
"We estimate that the upward trend of the office market will continue in 2020 and the companies will make their choice taking into account the quality of spaces, the proximity of the subway, the facilities and services offered by the new projects for the comfort of their employees," Petrescu added.
With more than 16 years of experience, ESOP has traded more than 120,000 sq m over the last three years. It is an affiliate member of CORFAC International - an alliance of entrepreneurial real estate companies active at local, national and international level.