JLL Romania has successfully advised office lease transactions totalling almost 25,000 sqm in Q1 2016 in Romania, a record of the last 12 months, for the company. The office leases were signed in Bucharest, in Cluj-Napoca and Iași.
JLL advised companies into leasing close to 13,000 sqm in Iasi, while in Bucharest and Cluj were signed 7,500 sqm and 1,700 sqm respectively.
By sector, professional services, BPO, IT and constructions companies were the main tenants. An important trend that started recently is that BPO/SSC/IT companies interested in opening offices in Romania are not looking only for a traditional call centre that will mainly offer support, but rather are shifting towards more value added services such as research & development. As a result, they are seeking better spaces, in buildings offering more than just the office space and better talents.
"We are very happy with the high activity of the tenants in Q1 2016 searching for modern offices in the major cities in Romania and not only in Bucharest. JLL advised office lease agreements totalling 25,000 sq m, almost 3 times larger when compared with Q1 2015. We are currently in discussion to bring new companies on the Romanian market, which will boost the total net demand for office spaces. This year's newcomers, will mainly be BPOs, SSCs and IT tenants", said Maria Florea, Head of Agency Office JLL România.
The most searched areas in Bucharest are Floreasca - Barbu Vacarescu, Central-West but lately, also Unirii area.
According to Maria Florea, the financial and IT sectors will continue to consolidate this year, as the trend began years ago, generating large office lease transactions (over 20,000 sqm), such as Genpact or Oracle.
"There are a number of companies that are currently working to consolidate their activities in Bucharest in a single office. They are looking for modern space assessing not only the financial aspects. They are seeking to provide their employees working spaces with good access to public transportation (mainly metro) and numerous amenities. Considering the performance of the office lease market at the beginning of this year and the increasing interest in Bucharest and in the major cities, we can expect for a new good year in terms of demand", added Maria Florea.
Headline rents remained stable over the last 12 months, but it is worth noting that the landlords are eager to offer more incentive packages to the tenants.