Colliers International Romania advised on the sale of Maestro Business Center office building in Cluj-Napoca, one of Romania’s most important regional cities. The acquisition made by First Property Group, a UK investment fund, favors the opening of a new investment market in Cluj-Napoca.
In recent years, Cluj-Napoca reinforced its status of an emerging office hub, many important business centers choosing to establish their locations here. With a stock of nearly 210,000 sqm of modern offices and deliveries of nearly 47,000 sqm announced for 2018, the city remains the main attraction outside of Bucharest, being the second largest university center and having the highest student density in the country, at over 200 students per 1,000 inhabitants.
Maestro Business Center is located in the centre of Cluj-Napoca. The strategic location and the good quality of the project have attracted numerous international tenants, including Steelcase, IBM, PwC, Hewlett Packard and Global Convergence, on a total GLA of 6,845 sqm. The project now registers a 100% occupancy rate.
Commenting on the new investment, Ben Habib, Group Chief Executive at First Property Group, said: “I am very pleased by the investment made by our clients and ourselves in this well located office building in the centre of Cluj-Napoca. Cluj-Napoca is a fast growing city which is supportive for both rents and capital values.”
„Compared to Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca’s office market is still developing, dominated by local capital. However, the potential of the region is strong in many ways, and the entry of a UK fund through the acquisition of Maestro Business Center marks a change in the pattern of present investors, supporting the strong evolution of the market. This phenomenon will grow on one hand because the fundamentals of the market are solid, but also as a result of the office stock becoming competitive in comparison to similar assets in Bucharest”, Anca Svoronos, Senior Associate Investment & Debt Advisory at Colliers International Romania explained.
The selling of Maestro Business Center makes Colliers International Romania the first international agency to advise an office transaction in a regional city of Romania, after top transactions concluded in Bucharest. Among the latter are Floreasca Park's acquisition in 2015, and Construdava, Phoenix Tower, Premium Point and Premium Plaza acquisitions in 2016.
„We expect additional office transactions to be concluded in Cluj-Napoca in the near future. Yields are attractive, products are of very good quality and demand is still strong, all of therse making a rewarding investment case for any real estate investor”, Anca Svoronos concluded.
