Offices rented by SMEs

ESOP study: The share of office space leased by SMEs that have between 25 and 60 employees increased by 43%

Medium-sized enterprises, which have between 25 and 60 employees, were the most active on the office market in the first four months of 2015, among SMEs. Thus, according to an ESOP Consulting analysis, the volume of spaces rented by these companies increased by 43%.

In 2015, the companies from the medium companies segment, which have between 25 and 60 employees, rented spaces with surfaces between 300 and 700 sq m, in Bucharest, most of them being oriented towards business centers from central and semi-central areas such as Grozavesti, Romana, Unirii, Maria Rosetti, 1 Mai, and Floreasca.

“The medium-sized companies we worked with at the beginning of this year are looking for quality office spaces located especially in business centers, located close to the subway. They generally have budgets between 9 and 11 euros per square meter. They want to find owners who understand their space flexibility needs. They expect that in the next 2-3 years, there will be an expansion of the business and therefore appreciate the possibilities of existing extensions in the building “, says Alexandru Petrescu, Managing Partner at ESOP Consulting.

Among the medium-sized companies that rented office space in the first four months of 2015 are companies whose number of employees has increased and moved to broader areas, but also companies that are at the beginning of the road, established this year.

Among the tenants of this type who found office space through ESOP is Weloweb, which traded 650 sqm in the Romanian area, Bion Advence Suport, which contracted 446 sqm in an office building in the Grozavesti area, Simartis Telecom, which traded 396 sqm in an office building in the Romana area, Computas Development Center with an area of ​​372.3 sqm in a business center in the Floreasca area, Flash Office Solutions, with 393 sqm in a building in the area Maria Rosetti and Bleidinger with 327 sqm, in an office building in the 1 Mai area.

The rents negotiated by the medium-sized companies that have traded office spaces with surfaces between 300 and 700 sqm are between 9 euro/sqm/month and 14 euro/sqm/month, depending on the location and the quality of the building. Regarding the characteristics of the chosen office spaces, most of them are located in business centers located in central and semi-central areas, Grozavesti, Romana, Unirii, Maria Rosetti, 1 Mai and Floreasca, close to the university areas mainly, with metro stations in proximity, easy access to all areas of the Capital and with multiple facilities for employees: restaurants, shops, and leisure facilities.

In terms of fields of activity, it is dominated by IT&C or professional services companies. In the first quarter of 2015, SMEs accounted for about 60% of the total number of transactions analyzed by ESOP.

In the first three months of 2015, SMEs made 44 transactions with office space with areas up to 700 square meters, which represents more than half of the total number of office transactions analyzed by ESOP and the combined area rented by SMEs in the first 4 months of 2015 amounts to 13,750 sqm.