The number of employees in Class A and B office buildings in Bucharest has reached about 253,000 at the end of the first semester of 2018, a slight increase compared to the end of 2017. In H1 2018, the number of employees working in companies with headquarters in modern office buildings in the capital increased by 3,000, according to estimates of Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. Considering the office projects whose delivery is announced for the second half of the year, the number of employees in modern office buildings in Bucharest could rise to 270,000 by the end of 2018.

In line with its development strategy for AccorHotels branded hotels in Eastern Europe, in particular on the very promising Romanian market, Orbis signed 3 new agreements in recent weeks for a total of 370 hotel rooms.

Telekom Romania announced the sale of two plots of land located in the Floreasca area of Bucharest to One United Properties. The transaction price exceeded €18 million.

Globalworth has secured a €46 million loan from BCR, which will be used for developing Connected, Renault’s new HQ in Bucharest.

Lithuanian company Apex Alliance, the owner of the Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Bucharest’s old town, will invest €90 million in four new hotels on the Romanian market. The hotels will operate under Marriot International and Hilton World Wide brands.

Bucharest’s Floreasca/Barbu Vacarescu area is the most valuable fusion between retail and office spaces. According to Colliers International Romania, for every 1,000 sqm of offices, there is 35-40 sqm of retail space. In total, in the Floreasca/Barbu Vacarescu area, there is about 10,000 sqm of such spaces at the ground floor of the office buildings, with the rents generated by these holding a share of 4-5% of the total cashed in by landlords.

Colliers International Romania advised East Balkan Properties plc in the selling of its office portfolio consisting of four buildings with a total area of 9,047 sqm, situated in strategic locations in the capital. The acquisition was made by Adam Europe, the group that purchased a while ago the Phoenix Tower and Construdava Business Center office buildings, following two transactions that were also advised by Colliers.

Forte Partners has signed the full sale of The Bridge office project to Dedeman Group, producing the largest real estate transaction of the year on the Romanian market to date.

Orbis has opened a new Ibis Styles hotel in the northern area of Bucharest. The hotel features a restaurant, a conference room, a business lounge and a bar, in addition to 80 guest rooms. The property was rebranded from Hotel Erbas.

Immofinanz has leased a total of over 15,000 sqm in Bucharest in the first half of this year. This is equivalent to 8% of its current overall leasable office space in Romania. The company has attracted new tenants for 8,300 sqm of office space and extended contracts for an additional 7,500 sqm in six of its office properties.