Globalworth, a leading office investor in Central and Eastern Europe, increased the size of its combined portfolio to 920,000 sqm of GLA in the first six months of 2018. The portfolio value rose to €2.1 billion, with assets of €1.2 billion in Romania and almost €1 billion in Poland. The company’s net operating income (NOI) increased to €51.7 million, representing growth of 135 percent compared to H1 2017, following its investment in the Polish market and ongoing expansion in Romania.
“Globalworth has continued to demonstrate strong momentum in 2018, led by its strategic expansion into Poland. In the first part of the year we became the largest office investor in the Polish market, closing two of the five biggest office transactions in the country so far in 2018. We continue to assess further pipeline opportunities under attractive market conditions in line with our ambition to consolidate Globalworth’s position as the leading institutional office landlord in the CEE through its portfolios in Romania and Poland. We seek to be the partner of choice for the wide variety of high-quality tenants which are either present or seeking to expand in the region,” said Dimitris Raptis, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Globalworth.
During the first half of the year, the company invested €276.2 million in new acquisitions and its development strategy. In Romania, the company acquired three land plots for future office developments in Bucharest, two of them in the new CBD of Bucharest and the third on Preciziei Boulevard, directly adjacent to the Renault Bucharest Connected project in the West part of Bucharest. In Poland, Globalworth’s portfolio expanded with the acquisition of three office buildings in the key Polish cities of Krakow (Quattro Business Park), Warsaw (Warta Tower) and Wroclaw (West Link). And in July, the company purchased a further building in Warsaw, namely Spektrum Tower.
In terms of development, the company announced the completion of Tower 2 at Globalworth Campus in Bucharest, followed by the commencement of the construction of the 34,800 sqm Tower 3, which is due for completion in Q4 2019. At the same time, the Renault Bucharest Connected joint venture, a 42,300 sqm development, is progressing well and is set for completion in the first quarter of 2019.
In addition, Globalworth negotiated the take-up or extension of 60,500 sqm of commercial space in Romania and Poland, resulting in 879,300 sqm being let or pre-let as at 30 June 2018 to some 510 tenants, of which over 77 percent is to multinational companies. The occupancy rate of the commercial standing portfolio reached 95 percent.
The H1 2018 financial results included in May Globalworth’s second admission to trading of corporate bonds on the Bucharest and Irish Stock Exchanges, with a total value of €550 million.
