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.

JLL has advised SLS Cargo, a transport and logistics company, in a lease transaction of 15,500 sqm of warehouse space in P3 Bucharest A1, located approximately 13 km west of Bucharest’s city centre. The new location is consolidating under one roof the logistic operations of SLS Cargo located around Bucharest.

P3 Logistic Parks lased out a total of 58,637 square meters of logistic and office space in H1 2020 to clients such as Gebrüder Weiss Romania, Interbrands Marketing & Distribution, Logwin or Just Master Activities. Of the total number of transactions, 52% of the surface (30,466 sqm) is represented by new long-term contracts, 38% are prolongations of existing contracts (22,420 sqm), and the remaining 10% (over 5,700 sqm) are short-term leasing agreements.

CTP has been named the landlord of choice by a joint venture partnership between Maersk and IB Cargo which is going to operate a 75,000 sqm distribution centre for IKEA Supply AG at ctPark Bucharest West.

Romanian real estate developer One United Properties has completed a capital increase process worth €25 million by selling part of its One Cotroceni Park urban regeneration project, currently under construction in Bucharest. The amount raised is to be invested in the further development of the project.