Office building transactions on the Romanian market reached the highest level of the last decade in 2018, as 20 assets with a total GLA of 220,000 square meters and a value of more than €500 million were transacted only in Bucharest, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

AFI Europe Romania has signed a non-binding letter of intent with Plaza Centers for the acquisition of the majority stake (75%) of the Casa Radio, located in the centre of Bucharest. The value of the offer amounts to €60 million.

Developers and real estate investors completed land acquisitions with a cumulative value of around €245 million last year in Bucharest, a new record for the past ten years, according to the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox which has monitored 31 medium and large transactions.

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Romania is reportedly considering the acquisition of the Hermes Business Campus office project in Northern Bucharest, according to zf.ro.

Bucharest’s central business district developed around Victoriei Square is registering an upward evolution in office activity, with a historic record-high volume in take-up and positive growth in pipeline stock, as showed by the latest office analysis conducted by Activ Property Services.

Tower 1 and Tower 2, the first two office buildings of the Globalworth Campus project in Bucharest, have been awarded BREEAM certificates with a rating of 'Excellent'. The certification recognizes the high standards of sustainability and the healthy working environment of the 57,000 sqm of Class A office space in the complex located in the northern part of the city.

MLP Group commenced the construction of its first logistics park in Romania. Work on a 12,000 sqm facility is currently underway. In total, over 22,000 sqm of modern warehousing space will be constructed at this stage of the project. Ultimately, 95,000 sqm of space will be available to tenants in MLP Bucharest West. Sagex Construct has been selected as the general contractor.

Construction works have started on the extension of the Colosseum commercial centre in the northwestern part of Bucharest. Colosseum Mall represents the most important retail development in Bucharest during the last three years, a period during which the purchasing power per capita at the city level increased by almost 20%.

Industrial and logistics developer Element Industrial has received the building permit for ELI PARK 1 and has started the construction works. The park will offer 45,000 sqm of warehouse and office space following an investment of €25 million.

2018 ended with a significant premiere on the local real estate market: Romanian investors ranked second in the generated volumes by nationality. Almost €200 million were spent to buy commercial properties (about a quarter of the total volume), a significant leap of more than five times compared with 2017, according to Colliers International.