BUCHAREST REAL ESTATE CLUB

One United Properties announces the acquisition of a historic building located in the centre of Bucharest, the former Ford factory, from Auchan Romania.

The developer estimates significant investments in the next two years in the restoration of the building, with the purpose of protecting and regenerating the cultural heritage of Romania’s capital.

One United Properties intends to fully restore the factory and transform it into a retail space integral to mixed-use development One Floreasca City. The space will host an Auchan concept store supermarket of 2,000 sqm, high-end shops and restaurants with expansive terraces, distributed on the 6 meters height ground and first floor.

The Gross Development Value (GDV) of the development upon completion is estimated at 82 million euros. Auchan Romania was already granted the building permit, therefore the construction will start immediately, with an estimated delivery date in mid-2024. Upon completion of the construction, the restored building will have a gross leasable area of approximately 13,000 sqm and 400 parking spaces built on two underground floors.

“We are thrilled about the acquisition of the former Ford factory because it is a one-of-kind location in the CEE region. We are determined to restore it so that it can be, once again, a thriving city destination, bustling with life, and a must-see landmark on the agenda of anyone visiting Bucharest,” stated Victor Căpitanu, co-CEO at One United Properties.

The building, located within the One Floreasca City development of One United Properties, was the first Ford factory with an operational assembly line in Eastern Europe. The land where the factory was built was bought in the early 1930s by Henry Ford. The factory opened in 1936, having 100 employees. Approximately 2,500 vehicles were assembled in the factory every year until 1948 when the plant was closed after Romania came under Soviet influence. The principal car built in the Bucharest factory was Ford V8 Fordor Sedan.

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Bright Spaces & InteRo Property Development team up for the 1st residential showcasing digital platform

• Bright Spaces and InteRo Property Development will partner to implement a web-based platform that streamlines the showcasing and selling of InteRo’s entire residential portfolio.
• The platform will be available from the 2nd Q of 2022, with a promise to create a new home buying experience. It will digitally present the developer’s premier residential projects: NorthLight Residence, New Confort City, SkyLight Residence.
• Future clients will be able to access all the information they need about their future apartment remotely, whenever it is convenient to them, with just one platform, instantly accessible from any device.

Proptech Bright Spaces makes a step ahead in its evolution by expanding the verticals it addresses through its solution. To date, the company has partnered with office landlords and developers to showcase office buildings from Romania and the UK.

In Romania, within the new digital Residential sales solution, all of InteRo’s outstanding residential projects will be featured: NorthLight Residence, New Confort City and SkyLight Residence. With this new platform, future clients will be able to explore the interior and exterior renderings of the 3 projects, get real-time availability insights, book a live tour, etc.

The first developer in Romania to present its entire residential portfolio digitally

Bogdan Nicoara, CEO & Cofounder Bright Spaces and Michael Topolinski IV, Head of Sales and Innovation InteRo Property Development are both excited to work together in the future and for their new 5-year partnership.

“This collaboration marks a first: our first implementation for a residential portfolio. Bright Spaces is scaling to reach our bold vision of becoming a global solution for any real estate vertical. We are excited to work with InteRo, an innovative and client-focused business that understands the need for digital-first solutions. We are looking forward to the official launch, it’s a key milestone for our team,” says Bogdan Nicoara, CEO & Cofounder Bright Spaces.

Michael Topolinski, Head of Sales and Innovation InteRo Property Development, also said about their future project:

“We are extremely excited to kick off a 5-year partnership with Bright Spaces, and become the first developer in Romania to present its entire residential portfolio through the platform. Bright Spaces represents progressive technology and ideology within the real estate space which aligns perfectly with the core values of InteRo. Through this partnership, InteRo will be adding a key piece to its technology stack, becoming technologically progressive today and being well-positioned for further advancement in the future”.

Bright Spaces is a European Venture Backed PropTech startup that offers a complete digital showcasing and commercializing solution for office and residential spaces. By using 3D visualization, digital space availability, and various automation, optimization and digitalization features in the leasing or selling process, Bright Spaces aims to increase the number of relevant requests and to foster commercial agreements in these segments.   

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FORTIM Study: Austria is the largest commercial real estate investor on the Romanian market

Austria is the first on the top of the investors which have chosen commercial real estate in Romania last year, amounting to about a third of the acquisition total, according to Fortim, Alliance Member of BNP Paribas Real Estate. The Czech Republic and Hungary rank on the second and third position.

In 2021 Austrian companies have bought real estate assets – office and retail space amounting to a total value of EUR 323 million, the second place being occupied by Czech investors, with a total of EUR 173 million and on the third place – investors from Hungary, with EUR 150 million. During the first months on this year, the Czech and Hungarian investors have remained on top.

The transactions with commercial assets in Romania amounted to EUR 919,45 million in 2021, which represents the third historical place (after the maximum of EUR 1.038 million in 2008 and 1.006 million in 2018). At European Union level the investment in commercial real estate in 2021 have increased by15% as compared to the previous year, reaching EUR 270 billion – as a before-pandemic level.

“Both in Romania and in the European Union we can see an increase of the activity of local and regional investors, unlike those from the Middle-East, Asia and the Pacific which are not that active anymore (due to the pandemic). The investors from the Middle-East, Asia and the Pacific have represented only 8% in Romania, versus 20% in 2019, before the pandemic.  At European Union level, the investment in these regions have also dropped to 15% of the total in 2021, versus 22% in 2019“, said Bogdan Cange, Managing Partner – Business Development at Fortim T.A., Alliance Member of BNP Paribas Real Estate.

·        The investment in this stage of development reaches 30 M €
·        The total GLA reaches 53,500 sqm
·        In the current geopolitical context, Colosseum Mall is donating the marketing budget initially allocated to the launch events to the Romanian Red Cross, in order to support the “Humanity has no borders” campaign

On 24th of March, Colosseum Mall officially opens to the general public, the new building with the assigned commercial spaces, marking on this occasion the completion of Bucharest’s most important retail development in the recent years.

Dozens of local and international famous brands are welcoming their customers with the latest concepts of stores and restaurants in the North-West Bucharest, an area where the residential segment has been developing at an accelerated pace in recent years.

“I am pleased to publicly announce the inauguration of Colosseum Mall and of the new shopping spaces which are long expected by our customers. The whole team put a lot of passion and effort into this project and we are glad that we managed to bring in the stores already present in the location, the new important brands which well-known at the local and international level. We have achieved this development in a difficult period, marked by the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic and the unpredictable geopolitical context, but we are optimistic about the success and the role that Colosseum Mall will have on the retail market in Bucharest. As the responsible actions are part of the company’s values, we decided to donate the budget initially allocated to the inauguration marketing activities, to Red Cross Romania, in order to contribute to the volunteer activities whose aim is to help vulnerable people,” says Mihai Dinu, General Manager Colosseum Mall.

The new brands are accessible to a frugal, yet sophisticated buyer who will discover an elegant space for shopping and meetings with friends and family in the Colosseum Mall.

The brands which will be joining this expansion stage are Sinsay, part of the Polish group LPP, which opens in Colosseum Mall the largest store in Romania, New Yorker, CCC, Deichmann, Smyk All for Kids, Noriel, Stay Fit, with the brand’s largest fitness center in Bucharest, Colin’s, 4F, Douglas, Teilor, English Home, Ac & Co, Mumuso, Optiblu, Nala Cosmetics, Helpnet, City Flowers, Fun Planet, Magic Casino, Superbet Premium Store, KFC, Dristor Kebab, Noodle Pack, Mesopotamia, So! Coffee, Vibe Cafe, Uncle John, All For Six, Bunătăți Ardelenești, Restaurant Presto, La Galleria, Inmedio, Xpressions Beauty & Body Care.

In the next 12 months, Colosseum Mall will host Happy Cinema multiplex with 7 high-end projection rooms, a clinic with medical services, as well as a series of other fashion brands and accessories such as House, Cropp, Splend’or, Penti, Kanel cofectionery and others.

The inauguration of Colosseum Mall will also generate a considerable number of jobs. In addition, the developer is pursuing its planned business objectives and will develop other projects, such as the first drive-thru concept in the location and the construction of the first residential project.

At the beginning of the year, real estate developer Speedwell together with Belgium based Baltisse and AYA Properties Fund have concluded the transaction for the sale of RECORD PARK Offices. The components, subject to this transaction structured as a share deal, are valued at EUR 35 million and combine 15,000 sqm of A-class office and retail spaces (including a historical refurbished building) and 2,000 sqm stand-alone sports center with pool.

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații acted as Romanian legal advisors to AYA Properties Fund, a Belgian based real estate investment fund with focus on AAA-locations in South-Eastern Europe, with a mixed team of M&A and real estate lawyers under the coordination of Dragoș Apostol, Partner (on the transaction side), together with Oana Ureche, Partner, Amalia Dumitru and Ioana Mărculeț, Managing Associates (on the due diligence side).

“We are very pleased and proud to have acquired the Class A office part of RECORD PARK, a mixed-use development in Cluj, Romania. Given it’s AAA location, quality tenants and BREEAM certificate, the project becomes a prime asset in our portfolio”, says Simon Synaeghel, Investment Manager at AYA Properties Fund.

Also, Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații advised Revetas Capital in relation to the disposal of Vitantis Shopping Center to Praktiker Real Estate Romania. The firm’s real estate lawyers led by Partners Oana Ureche and Răzvan Gheorghiu-Testa advised the seller on all legal aspects that were incident to the transaction.

The deal marks the completion of a successful repositioning and revival of the retail scheme into a large-scale neighbourhood power centre focused on home, convenience and grocery products, with long-term leases secured by well-established domestic and international retail operators.

“Vitantis Shopping Center was one of most ambitious investment exercises we undertook in 2014 and a showcase of a successful turnaround of a “first generation” shopping center located in one the most competitive submarkets of the Romanian capital city. During the holding period, we navigated one of the most challenging decades for retail as an asset class, additionally intensified by the dynamics of the following economic downturn initiated by the Global Financial Crisis and the massive traffic and operational restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic”, explains Radu Boitan, Head of Investments at Revetas Capital.

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații has a strong real estate team advising investors and developers, asset and property managers, financial institutions/banks, energy investors, major retailers, engineering, construction and infrastructure companies and public authorities. The firm is a three-time winner of the “Law Firm of the Year in Real Estate” Award from CIJ magazine (Central & Eastern European Construction & Investment Journal) and is also highly rated by all international legal directories (Legal 500, Chambers Europe etc) as regards its expertise in real estate and construction matters

GTC, one of the leading real estate companies in Central and Eastern Europe, announces the leasing of 1,618 square meters, located in two of its emblematic projects in Bucharest, City Gate and Premium Plaza. Also, the developer extended the lease contracts with other two companies that together occupy  1,510 sq m of office spaces, in City Gate.

The end of 2021 was a fruitful period for GTC Romania that welcomed 3 new tenants in the City Gate Project including ZIM Integrated Shipping, an international cargo services company, and  Bachmann Romania, a company that operates in the electrical engineering sector and is present in 7 countries across Europe. The new tenants will move into their new offices in the first quarter of 2022.

“Romania is an important market for Bachmann. After opening our first showroom in London in November 2021, we decided to replicate the concept in Romania. We are confident that the location we selected in City Gate – owned by GTC, with whom we have a solid partnership – will help us promote our business and our capabilities,” stated Răzvan Dumitrache, Country Manager Bachmann Romania.

The last quarter of 2021 was a good period not only for signing new partnerships for GTC, but also for consolidating relationships with previous tenants. One of the biggest global home appliance producers, Miele, signed a five-year lease extension for its 614 sq m space in City Gate South Tower, where the company has a showroom.

“We have been partners with GTC for 8 years and we were grateful for the good collaboration, so the extension of the lease is definitely a reason to celebrate the trustful partnership,” stated Dragos Grigore, Miele Romania.

Also, Keyence, a leading supplier of sensors, measuring systems, laser markers, microscopes, and machine vision systems worldwide, is another company that decided to extend with 5 years the lease for the 380 sq m office spaces occupied in City Gate – South Tower.

Premium Plaza, located in Victoriei Square, also welcomed a new tenant, which signed an agreement for 516 sq m, and will move in February 2022 to their new offices. The company is part of a global healthcare group offering high-quality products and services.

“I am very pleased because not only that we have managed to keep our tenants close, but we have set the basis for what I hope to be strong and long partnerships. I believe these signings are a signal that the market is recovering, and that the companies and their employees are coming back to offices, even if the way we work has changed. Also, for GTC, it is also a sign of renewed tenant interest in healthy and modern class A office spaces, adapted to ESG norms, that respect the environment and ensure a safe working environment for the people, especially in this period. GTC proved again that it is not only a building owner or developer, but a true partner for its tenants and I am grateful to all our Romanian team and partners for this new accomplishment,” stated Ziv Gigi, Managing Director of GTC’s operations Romania.

The fact that the office market is constantly growing,  is also shown by the latest global study Deloitte 2022. According to the quoted source, the representatives of the companies in the commercial real estate sector (commercial spaces, business centers and offices, logistics spaces) estimates, in a proportion of 80%, an increase of revenues this year compared to 2021, and 73% expect the intensification of transactions in the field in the next 12 months.

MASTERBUILD – General Contractor & Developer announces the start of new investment, in a logistics park of over 16,000 sqm, on a land area of ​​34,000 sqm, located North of Bucharest, in Butimanu – Dambovita area, with direct access to DN1A.

The investment value amounts to approximately 20 million euros and the new logistics park will take over the increased market demand for industrial and storage spaces with special thermal conditions, requested especially by the consumer goods industries (meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits) but also by the pharmaceutical industry or other sectors active in the field of perishable goods.

The project, a Build-to-Suit development, will benefit from class A construction standards, with a hall height of up to 14m and sustainable construction elements, for utility consumption and on-site maintenance costs optimization. The project is equipped with photovoltaic panels and an extensive ultra-light green roof, which will save up to 30% of the energy and maintenance costs.

The office areas within MASTERBUILD LOGISTIC PARK will also be class A, operated with an automated management system (BMS – Building Management System). In terms of sustainability, the project will be BREEAM (European Sustainability Certification System) certified and construction will begin in the second half of this year.

“There is a growing demand on the market for the segment of controlled temperature spaces and the area between Bucharest and Ploiesti, where the new logistics park is located is very effervescent, with many agribusinesses and food processors active in the area,” says Stefan Vayna, CEO of MASTERBUILD – General Contractor & Developer.

MASTERBUILD – General Contractor & Developer is a construction and logistics development company, active since 2005 both in the segment of industrial constructions and commercial and residential projects. The company operates both in Romania and in international markets.