August 10, 2020.O1 Properties, the largest owner of class-A office real estate in Moscow, published operating results for the first half of 2020.
O1 Properties leased 14,358 sq. m of office space in new contracts from January to June 2020, not including renewal contracts. Transactions were concentrated at the White Square and Krugozorbusiness centres (respectively, 7500 sq. m. and1780 sq. m.of new leases).
New tenants at White Square included BNP Paribas Technology(2197 sq. m.of space, transaction brokered by JLL), VMware (917 sq. m., transaction brokered by Cushman & Wakefield). Vacancy at White Square dropped below 5%by the end of the first half of 2020.
New tenants at Krugozor included the construction company CRCC. The vacancy rate at the business centers now below 3%.
O1 Properties also signed other new lease deals at the Lighthouse, Stanislavsky Factory, LeFORT, and iCUBEbusiness centers in the first half of 2020.
Pavel Barbashev, Chief Commercial Officer at O1 Properties, commented: “The coronavirus pandemic has provoked a crisis in the office market and some tenants are looking at ways of adding flexibility to their office solutions. However, many large companies remain committed to classic long-term leases at quality premises managed by professional teams. Most of our transactions in the first half of 2020 were signed during or immediately after lifting of the self-isolation regime in Moscow and they ensured that the vacancy rate in the O1 Properties portfolio remains at 5%, which is below the market average.”
Natalia Nikitina, Partner and Head of Office Group at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Total volume of lease and sale transactions in the first half of 2020 was 840,000sq. m., which is only 4.3% less than the same period last year. The share of pre-lease transactions was 15% against 9.5% in the first half of 2019. These figures prove that the market is still experiencing a shortage of quality office space, despite the crisis. For large companies, the office remains the driver for corporate, cultural, and personal development of staff. We will definitely see a number of large transactions by the end of the year.”
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