“Apartment” companies are starting to move into office buildings
Small entrepreneurs gradually give up their headquarters in blocks of flats or houses, moving to special office buildings, and developers have adapted their offer to the needs of SMEs.
Ads such as “I am renting space in a new office building, 130 square meters, 22 euros per square meter” have started to be more frequent on websites and in publications with real estate offers. If, in recent years, the office space market has been dominated by large companies, which needed modern offices and vast areas, now such customers are increasingly difficult to find.
On the other hand, the evolution of rents and prices of residential buildings has made modern office spaces more attractive for small companies, which until now were known as “apartment companies.”
The players on the real estate market confirm the increasing demand for small spaces, which is suitable for company headquarters with less than 100 employees. Developers have appeared on the market who build office premises with smaller areas, of 500-700 sqm per floor, and intended for SMEs whose needs do not exceed these areas.
“We try to offer this opportunity to those interested. If there were small spaces for rent before, now the novelty is the sale of office space in small areas to cover a segment of demand. Those interested in these properties are the end-users and not the investors “, says Cristina Rosca, corporate & residential department manager of the real estate agency RealTime.
Three rental options Mirela Raicu, a senior corporate consultant for the real estate company Esop Consulting, says that the demand for such spaces has increased in recent years, practically exceeding the supply. The rent for a three or four-room apartment, located in a central or semi-central area and with access to means of transport, has reached at least 700-800 euros per month.
The houses and villas that would be suitable as company headquarters can be rented for 2,000-3,000 euros per month. In a new office building, renting a space of 130-150 square meters costs between 2,800 and 3,800 euros per month. Most of the offices are located near transport hubs (subway stations, airport), can be modernly arranged and compartmentalized according to needs.
Such spaces also have disadvantages: the requested rental period is longer (three years on average and five years for class A spaces). The expenses with maintenance services and utilities are added to the rent, the amount being between 2.5 euro/sqm and 3.5 euro/sqm. Tenant or landlord? Specialists recommend renting offices for companies that do not need specially designed halls or offices and want to pay less money to the state.
“The cost of rent is fully deductible at the time of registration in accounting. In the case of a property owned, only the depreciation is deductible “, explains the lawyer Gabriel Biris, specialized in taxation, partner at the Biris-Goran company. For example, you can have as a headquarters a villa for a rent of 2,000 euros per month, or, in the purchase option, paying a price of 250,000 euros. In the case of a lease, deduct the entire amount when calculating the profit tax. In the case of acquisition, the monthly expense you can record is only 520 euros (corresponding to a 40-year amortization).
“From a commercial point of view, purchases are advantageous only in a period of rising prices,” says Biris. Due to high costs, companies are starting to abandon the idea of their own headquarters. An example is the IT retailer Flamingo, which has been trying to sell its headquarters in Otopeni for about a year after the company relocated from that area. “The advantage of renting is that all the amount paid is deductible.” Gabriel Biris, partner at the law firm Biris-Goran 20% The level of rents, increased by an average of 20% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Analysts estimate that they will remain in this area throughout the year. Currently, they are paid for upper-class buildings between 18 and 25 euros/sqm/month. 1,500 sqm The most rented areas are 1,500 – 2,000 sqm. Some beneficiaries prefer to sublet spaces of 100-400 sqm for smaller companies, thus amortizing some of their expenses.
Source: Capital
by Maria Neda 
