ARTICLES LABELLED WITH TAG Bucharest

Romanian lender BCR, part of Austria’s Erste Group Bank, has reportedly reached an agreement to sell the Bucharest Financial Plaza office building on Calea Victoriei that served as the headquarters of defunct state lender Bancorex.  The buyer is a German investor and the details of the deal will be announced in early December, Economica.net reports.

CTP has inaugurated a new logistics centre in ctPark Bucharest West for one of the largest retail companies in Romania. Started in December 2019 and finished in September 2020, the new warehouse for Profi Romania became operational only one month after the completion of construction. The warehouse has a total area of ​​56,500 sqm, which can be extended by another 10,000 sqm. CTP’s investment in the project was €29 million (RON 140 million).

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the property investment market in Romania? What are the biggest challenges companies face these days? Is the wait and see period really over in Romania? Four experts tried to answer these questions and more at SEE Property Forum 2020, a hybrid event organised by Property Forum and RICS. We summarised the highlights of the discussion, moderated by Codrin Matei (Crosspoint Real Estate).

The transaction in which Sif Banat – Crișana bought the shares held by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction in Doosan IMGB, was authorized by the Competition Council. The transaction, involving a land plot with an area of ​​540,000 square meters, the largest land plot ever traded in Bucharest, was brokered by Crosspoint Real Estate.

Half of the employees who normally work in office buildings continued to work mainly from home even after the state of emergency was lifted, despite the fact that, during the summer, most companies began to bring back their employees partially or through rotation in the office spaces, as shown by a research study conducted by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox regarding the working methods of employees in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Experts of the international investors’ panel at SEE Property Forum 2020, a hybrid event organised by Property Forum and RICS, agreed that Romania’s property investment market has matured a lot in recent years but the lack of liquidity is still an issue. They also confirmed that COVID-19 makes it difficult to forecast the future direction of the market and it makes certain market players, especially banks, more cautious.

P3 Logistic Parks signed a collaboration protocol with the Regional Branch of Railway Transport for Passengers Bucharest (CFR Călători). The agreement grants train stops next to P3 Bucharest A1 park for the Regio and InterRegio trains circulating the route Bucharest - Videle and back. This new transport facility will allow P3 Bucharest A1’s tenants to recruit labour force from adjacent locations, on the route Roșiori - Videle - P3 Bucharest A1 - Basarab - Gara de Nord and back. Starting 21 September, P3’s park in Bucharest can be accessed also by train, from Gara de Nord or Basarab, in a 17-25 minutes trip.

The Râul Doamnei - Eroilor section of the M5 metro line, inaugurated in September, will shorten the travelling time for 150,000 Bucharest inhabitants who live near the 10 newly built stations, also offering a quick travel alternative for almost 20,000 employees working in companies whose office buildings’ headquarters are located in the Eroilor - Progresului – Politechnica areas. The Râul Doamnei, Constantin Brâncuși, Valea Ialomiței and Romancierilor metro stations, located at the western end of the new metro line, each have a catchment area of between 18,000 and 22,000 people who can access the metro within a 10-minute walk, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Local real estate developer Forty Management has acquired a 39,896 sqm plot of land of in the Străulești area of ​​the Bucharest from Butan Gas Romania in a transaction valued at €8.2 million. The developer plans to deliver the Central District Lagoon City mixed-use project with 570 apartments, hotel, offices and commercial space, following an investment of over €100 million.

Local developer One Untied Properties announced that its One Verdi Park project, located in the Floreasca neighbourhood of northern Bucharest, will focus mainly on exclusive residential units. The developer’s initial plan included a 17-floor office tower, offering 21,000 sqm of commercial space, alongside a residential tower. One Verdi Park is scheduled for completion in Q4 2021.