COVID-19 has fundamentally challenged and modified the way the global workforce interacts, socializes, and collaborates. Flexible working practices, including working from home, have been heavily adopted as the recent pandemic has forced a trial run of remote working for industries, businesses, and individuals across the entire world. As a result, sentiments towards office space, its value, role, and contribution to the operation of daily work tasks are now being reconsidered both by employees and employers. While the pandemic has boosted the shift towards integrating flexible workspaces into corporate real estate portfolios, the fear that the office will lose its relevance is not realistic. Rather than becoming obsolete, it will become an increasingly valuable asset in facilitating collaboration and driving business growth, writes Gavin Bonner, Vice President of Romanian office developer Genesis Property in an opinion piece for Property Forum.

In Immofinanz's Hungarian portfolio, several lease agreements and extensions of almost 21,000 sqm have recently been completed. Thus, most of the company's local office buildings are currently fully leased.

Online retailer eMAG will invest €1.5 million in upgrading its HQ building to accommodate the hybrid work system as it aims to make the program permanent for more than 3,000 employees. The HQ will be transformed into a collaborative workspace and will be fitted with technology systems that support the mix of office and remote work.  

Romanian entrepreneur Liviu Tudor has announced plans to revamp Novo Park, the office park he owns in northern Bucharest. The office facades will be refreshed and solar panels will be placed on top of each of the seven buildings in the complex. 

The Swedish developer launches the construction of another building in the Nowy Rynek complex in Poznań which is going to consist of approx. 28,500 sqm of office space. It will apply for a WELL Core&Shell certificate. The commissioning is scheduled for Q2 2023.

Patrizia has appointed JLL as the commercialization agent for its office portfolio in Poland, consisting of eight buildings with space totaling approx. 65,000 sqm. JLL acts as a partner of MVGM, the new property manager of Patrizia’s portfolio.

The Globalworth Foundation provided an office space from the Globalworth group to the authorities in Bucharest for a vaccination centre. Led by the public authorities of Bucharest, the activity of the centre will consist of vaccinating as many people as possible in the third phase of the national vaccination campaign.

In the largest cities, we can observe the implementation of spectacular office projects. Completion of some investments affects the classification of the tallest buildings in Poland.

Savills has been instructed as sole letting agent for office and retail space in the Wratislavia Center in Wrocław, managed by the Austrian investor FLE GmbH.

Take-up on Ljubljana’s office market reached only 46,000 sqm in 2020, one third less than the previous year. Despite strong demand from potential tenants, there is very limited supply available, according to the Ljubljana office market snapshot prepared by S-Invest.