People of Cushman & Wakefield Echinox
Bucharest, February 2023: The property portfolio under the management of the Asset Services department of the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox real estate consultancy company has tripled during the last 5 years, reaching more than 450,000 sq. m of office, logistics and retail spaces, both in Bucharest and the rest of the country. A further growth of 10-15% is also estimated for 2022, a positive forecasted evolution which is based on the owners’ increasing interest to manage their projects as efficiently as possible both in terms of costs and also of the relationships with tenants.
Mihaela Petruescu, Partner Asset Services Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: “Our team currently manages a portfolio of over 450,000 sq. m, representing 20 properties, with a total market value of more than 500 million euros. The projects in question accommodate 240 tenants from a wide range of industries. This positive evolution comes at a time when landlords are very keen on managing their properties in the most effective way possible, given the technological evolution and the volatility of utilities costs and rising inflation. In this context, the role and the quality of the services provided by property managers have become extremely important and can make a difference in terms of building performance and overall attractiveness.”
Along with the already mentioned increase of the managed area, the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox Asset Services team has also expanded the segments it covers. As a result, its portfolio currently includes all categories of commercial properties – office buildings, industrial and logistics parks and shopping centers, owned by some of the most important market players present in Romania.
The largest share of the total portfolio managed by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox consists of industrial and logistics projects (261,000 sq. m), followed by retail (125,000 sq. m) and office buildings (68,000 sq. m).
The potential of the real estate asset management market is significant, and growth could come mainly from owners who have a diversified portfolio of projects spread across the country.
Moreover, the changes that have occurred in the real estate market as a result of the wider adoption of the hybrid work model, but also taking into account the increasing interest rates that limit the access to mortgage loans, could create new opportunities, in particular through the development of the institutional private rented residential sector.
The Asset Services department also includes the Corporate Facilities Management division, which has also registered an impressive evolution, especially after the sanitary crisis, and which currently has in its portfolio companies with around 4,700 employees that occupy a total of 50,000 sq. m of office spaces in Bucharest, Iasi, Timisoara.
Mihaela Petruescu, Partner Asset Services Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: “The growth of the Asset Services division is proof that the real estate market does not only entail consultancy services for rental or investment purposes. The increasing competition between landlords to attract tenants, and also between companies to attract and retain the best employees, requires the establishment/creation/development of specialized teams to provide the most up to date and efficient solutions, and also the best working conditions”.
This rapidly expanding customer portfolio has also translated into a consistent team enlargement; as such, the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox Asset Services team has more than tripled over the past 5 years, reaching a total of 38 members.
Among the most representative clients of our team are some of the largest investors and developers on the local real estate market, such as Țiriac Imobiliare, Logicor, Zeus Capital & Resolution Property Investment, Rewe ProjektentWicklung Romania, Colosseum, Akcent Development and Scallier.
Cushman & Wakefield Echinox is a leading real estate company on the local market and the exclusive affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield in Romania, owned and operated independently, with a team of over 80 professionals and collaborators offering a full range of services to investors, developers, owners and tenants.
Cushman & Wakefield, one of the global leaders in commercial real estate services, with 50,000 employees in over 60 countries and $ 9.4 billion in revenue, provides asset and investment management consulting services, capital markets, leasing, properties administration, tenant representation. For more information, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com
