Anna Szymańska, Head of the Office Department at Newmark Polska, summarised how to renegotiate a lease to profit from it throughout its term, what to focus on, what not to miss, how to tackle costs and why it makes sense to engage professional advisers in renegotiations.

Office rents in Bucharest rose by up to 15.8% in the 12 months to June 2023, with the highest prices recorded in the CBD area of the city, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Craft, the latest project by Belgian developer Ghelamco in Katowice, has been granted an occupancy permit, thereby adding 26,700 sqm of office space to the local market.

A new building, Liget Center Vitrum, will join the existing office buildings, Liget Center Classic and the iconic Auditorium. At the same time, the visual identity is being updated: it will be modern and distinctive while reflecting the history of the building complex.

Romanian developer One United Properties has recorded a net profit of €52.8 million in H1 2023, up 13% compared to the same period of last year, while the turnover rose by 26% to €171 million in the same interval.

The workforce is changing, and Generation Z is leading the way. This generation, born between 1997 and 2012, is now entering the workforce in large numbers, and it is characterized by its unique values and aspirations, according to Maria (Tudorică) Jianu of Genesis Property. 

According to Savills' research, the demand figures for premium office space in the first half of 2023 have started to vary significantly across Europe compared to the five-year average, Luxembourg saw a 137% increase, Oslo a 22% increase and Prague a 13% increase, while Lisbon, Dublin and Budapest saw declines of 62%, 42% and 21%. However, demand is facing a shortage of modern office buildings, especially in well-served locations. Moreover, no developer has started construction of an office building in Prague for more than 12 months. In addition, most of the projects that started with the construction earlier (e.g., Masaryčka) are already significantly occupied. On the contrary, the positive news for those interested in new offices is that up to 195,700 sqm of new office space could be built in Prague by the end of 2025, of which 143,600 sqm is already under construction, says Savills in its analysis. 

GTC has presented strong financial results for the first half of 2023 with €90 of rental revenues, 8% higher than the €85 million recorded in the same period of the previous year.

Offices might become hotels, hotels can be converted into apartment buildings and warehouses may serve as retail centres. But location, revenue-generating capacity and environmental considerations are the most important factors in converting successfully an existing commercial property, say experts of Hungarian developer Wing. Ernő Takács, Deputy CEO, responsible for hotels and retail at Wing and Chairman of the Association of Hungarian Property Developers and Gábor Angel, Deputy CEO, responsible for offices at Wing, talked to Property Forum about the challenges of changing the use of a property.

High demand and a lack of new projects have caused Prague's office vacancy rate to fall. It currently stands at 7.26%. The volume of new construction and refurbishments accounted for approximately 143,600 sqm at the end of Q2 2023, and the total market size was 3.85 million sqm. Benchmark rental prices did not change from the previous quarter; however, the price of office fit-out (equipping them with necessary features) is increasing due to ESG and modern standards. Such outlays can easily exceed €1,000 per sqm, according to a survey conducted by Colliers.