Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Wednesday, June 7, with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
Logistics companies driving demand for warehouses in Romania
According to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, logistics operators accounted for 50 percent of the Q1 2023 warehouse demand in Romania, with significant activity also coming from manufacturing and FMCG sectors. Net take-up was around 200,000 sqm, with more than 50 percent of it coming in projects which are due to be delivered in 2024.
Andrei Brînzea, Partner at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, siad, “Romania continues to be a relevant market in the region, attracting companies which aim to strengthen or expand their presence in the CEE, offering some of the most competitive conditions when it comes to costs.”
Developers plan to complete new projects with a total leasable area of 400,000 sqm across the country by the end of 2023, as Bucharest remains the preferred destination, with around 50 percent of the projects to be delivered near the capital city, while Brasov, Timisoara, Slatina, Arad and Sibiu will also receive new developments in the coming period.
ESG is both a challenge and an opportunity for office buildings
Modern office buildings are an important part of ESG strategies for many companies. However, the real estate market in the Czech Republic is not yet fully prepared for the new ESG-related requirements. Even construction projects planned over the next few years will not resolve this issue, since meeting strict standards and certification requirements is both procedurally and financially demanding, says Colliers.
“Multinational companies are already actively demanding office space that complies with new requirements in terms of materials used, renewable energy, carbon footprint, waste management, healthy working environment and water efficiency,” says Jana Vlková, Director of Workplace Advisory and Office Agency at Colliers. “We expect a growing number of companies to have similar requirements in the future, not least because of the new sustainability reporting rules that start to apply as of next year.”
A recent ABSL survey confirmed this anticipated trend, with findings showing that a full 88 percent of IT, business or customer service companies are already engaged in preparing or implementing their ESG-related plans.
S IMMO records further successes in the ESG area
S IMMO has succeeded in surpassing the improvements from last year and has climbed further up the ESG rating scale. The rating classifies S IMMO’s ESG risk as “low” and its ESG risk management as “strong”. With this rating, the company ranks among the top 5 percent of all companies globally and among the top 16 percent worldwide in an industry comparison.
Decisive factors for this improvement included among others the purchase of buildings in Budapest and Bucharest with green building certifications and the introduction of a science-based climate risk management.
Herwig Teufelsdorfer of S IMMO, said: “In times of climate crisis, a company can no longer afford not to have an ambitious approach to reducing its own carbon footprint. The current rating improvements clearly demonstrate that S IMMO takes its ESG responsibilities seriously and is doing its part.”
Victaulic leases space at GLP Poznań Airport Logistics Centre
GLP signed an agreement with Victaulic, a specialist in mechanical pipe joining solutions, to lease 7,500 sqm of space in the newest building of the GLP Poznań Airport Logistics Centre. The logistics park totals over 81,000 sqm of warehouses and production space.
Jarosław Tylczyński, Branch Manager, Victaulic, commented: “We plan to move to the new facility in June. The plan is ambitious, but achievable thanks to cooperation with business partners such as GLP who understand the sensitivity of the market and the needs of the tenant.”
Paweł Żeromski, Business Development Manager at GLP, commented: “The Victaulic expansion is an important milestone in a long-term, fruitful partnership and a perfect example of client’s development within our park.”
