O1 Properties, one of the largest owners of class-A office property in Moscow, published operating results for 2021. The Company leased 155,000 sq.m. of office space last year, of which 80,000 sq.m. were new lease transactions and 75,000 sq.m. were lease extensions.

The total figure was 55% greater than in 2020 and the volume of new lease transactions increased by more than three times compared with 2020.

The vacancy rate in the portfolio halved in the course of 2021, from 8% to 4%.

New tenants include such companies as Otkritie Investments, Metpromstroy, Avtodor-Engineering, Beckhoff Automation, CFT Group and GPB Asset Development. Several companies, including GPB Komplekt and Cherkizovo, decided to expand office space at their current location, and a number of tenants relocated their office while remaining within the O1 Properties portfolio.

Pavel Barbashev, Commercial Director of O1 Properties, said: “Demand for high-quality class-A and class-B+ offices was at record levels in 2021. Our Company last showed a comparable volume of new leases in 2012. The trend this year is towards more large and medium-sized Russian companies seeking to improve the quality and location of office space for their employees. Location remains the determining factor when selecting an office: sites in the Central District of Moscow with good transport accessibility and a developed local environment are attracting the bulk of demand”.