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Bucharest, May 2019: Cushman & Wakefield Echinox brokered three leases of office spaces in Cluj-Napoca with a cumulated area of 6,500 square meters in the first months of the year, the tenants being three IT companies, already present in the city.
The three companies had occupied offices with a total area of around 3,000 square meters, therefore moving into the new spaces will allow them to expand, potentially doubling their local teams. The companies chose three new buildings, which are currently under development in the central area of the city.
Riverbed Technology, headquartered in San Francisco, with more than 2,400 employees in 50 offices around the world, leased a space of 1,400 square meters in the Advancity Offices building, where it will relocate during this summer.
Radu Farcas, Director of Engineering, Riverbed Technology: “The Riverbed team has grown and will grow even more, and the current space has become inadequate. We chose to relocate in the Advancity building because we have the opportunity to conduct our business on a single floor, which favors team communication. We also wanted to align ourselves with the other Riverbed offices in the world in terms of quality. At the same time, having mixed teams, with both experienced employees and also young people at the beginning of their careers, it was important to be in the proximity of universities, but also of kindergartens and schools. We wanted to fully benefit from the public transportation system, being close to the intersection of the north-south and east-west axes, while the proximity to the city center gives many options lunch options to our employees.”
Analog Devices, a Norwood-based company near Boston, with annual revenues of over $5 billion, leased nearly 1,200 square meters in the UBC Riviera building near Iulius Mall Cluj.
Andrei Cozma, Site Manager, Analog Devices: “Analog Devices Cluj, a subsidiary of Analog Devices Inc., has begun the relocation process to the UBC Riviera Office building in early 2019 aiming to expand our business as whole as well as the development team. This new location was chosen mainly due to the high quality standards the building offers and its location in one of the best-rated areas in Cluj. With a surface area of more than 1,000 square meters, the new location will give the Cluj subsidiary the opportunity to extend up to 100 employees during the next period, thus becoming an important Analog Devices development center globally.”
The third IT company, based in the United Kingdom, leased a 4,000 square meters space in another modern building under development, situated in the center of the city.
Monica Vasile, Director, Office Agency, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: “Cluj-Napoca remains the city with the greatest absorption potential outside Bucharest when it comes to both newcomers and companies that are planning to expand, having the largest stock of modern office spaces among the main regional cities. Most of our customers continue to be from the IT&C sector, as almost all of the requests that we process come from this field. In regards to locations, demand is mainly concentrated on the central area, especially due to the fact that there are no large significant rent fluctuations, as it is stabilized at around 14-14,5 euro / sq. m / month both in the case of the buildings located in the central area and also of those from central-east and central-west.
The main criteria of our clients in choosing office spaces were the easy access from the airport, the facilities for their employees both in the building and in the surrounding area, the very good technical specifications and an efficient design of the spaces. “
Cluj-Napoca is the largest office market outside Bucharest, with a total stock of approximately 300,000 square meters. Considering that the city has a population of 325,000 inhabitants and more than 68,000 students, the labor market is very active, with the companies being in a constant search for young professionals. Moreover, with a net average salary of 682 euros/month, Cluj ranks second nationwide, after Bucharest (793 euros/month), according to the National Institute of Statistics.
David Stănescu, Senior Consultant, Office Agency, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: “With a specialized workforce, a well-developed infrastructure and high touristic potential, the Cluj-Napoca office market has had a significant activity in recent years, registering a very good absorption rate of modern spaces. The emphasis placed on human resources by the big companies in the city creates strong competition in the recruitment process, as the benefits they offer are also attracting personnel even from Bucharest. If we take into account the current rhythm of the office market, we expect that the city will soon attract related services such as coworking spaces. “
Cushman & Wakefield Echinox is one of the largest real estate consultancy firms in the local market, active in all real estate market segments. The company’s office agency is active in Bucharest, but also in the largest cities in the country, such as Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi or Brasov.
Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, the exclusive affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield in Romania, owned and operated independently, has a team of over 60 professionals and collaborators offering a full range of services to investors, developers, owners and tenants across all segments of the real estate market.
Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services company with 51.000 employees in more than 70 countries, helping owners, occupiers and investors to optimize the value of their real estate. Cushman & Wakefield revenues of $8.2 billion come from core services of investment & asset management, capital markets, agency leasing, tenant representation, asset and facility services, project management, valuation & advisory. To learn more, visit www.cwechinox.com.
Photo source: Adrian Ciorba / picsunday.com
