Office Design by COS for Globant, Cluj
While the modern Class A office stock remained constant at 340,000 sq m, Cluj registered the most dynamic leasing market outside Bucharest in 2024. Close to 30,000 sq m were let in Cluj, a significant uptick compared to the past two years.
The city dubbed “Silicon Valley” of Romania attracted new employers in the IT&C sector, such as Yopeso and HN Services. Companies with a major presence, such as Betfair and Endava, chose to extend their leases, leading to significant renewals of 8,500, and 4,500 sqm, respectively. New entrants in Romania, such as Copeland, acknowledged Cluj’s leading role in nurturing a qualitative talent pool by opening a multi-disciplinary service center that will be a home for more than 200 professionals. Banca Transilvania, the leading financial institution in Romania, headquartered in Cluj extended its presence by renting nearly 4,000 sq m.
Thus, rents registered a slight uptick, ranging between 14 to 16 EUR/sqm. The vacancy rate is single-digit, lower than in Bucharest and other leading regional cities. The prime yield stands at 8.75%, reflecting the recent year’s volatility and increase in interest rates.
In the medium term, more than 70,000 sqm are expected on the market. In addition to the extension of Liberty Business & Technology Park, one of the most expected new deliveries is Iulius’s Group’s new 15,000 sq m development on the former Carbochim platform. Part of a landmark mixed-use development, the new office building will allow companies to benefit from the premium environment created by integrating an ultra-modern shopping destination, lush green areas, and leisure facilities. Iulius has already put its toll on Cluj, following the same transformative urban regeneration strategy applied in Iasi and Timisoara. The office component, under the United Business Center umbrella, features three separate projects built in 2008, 2014, and 2018, totaling 27,000 sqm. Companies that chose to work in UBC buildings include Endava, Genpact, Office Depot, and Analog Devices.
The Office is one of the emblematic business parks in ultra-central Cluj-Napoca. The 60,000 sqm of office and retail were built by Mulberry Development and NEPI Rockcastle custom to Cluj-Napoca market needs.
As this was an accelerated growth market, the business park was constructed in three phases between 2013 and 2017 with the end goal of delivering a 9,000 sq m united floor plate, that could host up to 1,000 employees on a single level. As the metro project is years in the making, The Office concept features 1,100 car parking spaces and up to 400 bicycle/motorbike racks.
The modern amenities, 200 seats capacity conference center, and visually appealing landscaping serve community building purposes for companies such as Deloitte, Yonder, 3Pillar Global, Bombardier, Betfair, Steelcase, National Instruments and Bosch. In 2019, Paval Holding added the landmark property to their portfolio for c.a. 130 million EUR.
Hexagon Offices is a Class A business complex delivered in mid-2019 by a joint venture between local entrepreneurs who managed to secure top-tier tenants such as Cognizant and Accenture. It exchanged hands for 32 million EUR at the end of 2019, being taken over by a Romanian family business.
Another considerable mixed-use development is Prime Kapital’s 17 ha urban regeneration project on the former Cesarom platform. In addition to a medium-sized shopping center and a much-needed residential component, the project should bring 49,000 sqm of offices to market. The master planning and permitting process is still under development, with a soon-to-be-announced timeline.
SILVIU BĂBȚAN, Office Buildings Manager IULIUS Cluj
“2024 was an exciting year for our office component in Cluj-Napoca, as a consequence of a new stage of expansion for companies. We recorded one of the most significant transactions on the office market in Romania, the largest outside the Capital, to our knowledge, representing a new partnership for 8,500 sqm, with a single company, in the IT field. Also, in 2024 we signed new contracts and extensions for an area of 20,000 sqm, out of a total of 27,000 sqm totaling the three office buildings developed, in Cluj-Napoca, by IULIUS under the national United Business Center brand. Thus, approximately 50% of the transactions registered this year, in Cluj-Napoca, were for our office buildings. We are at 100% occupancy, but we are happy with the interest in new partnerships, in the context of the development of 15,000 sqm of premium office spaces, in the RIVUS mixed-use urban reconversion project, for which the IULIUS company announced the approval of the Zonal Urban Plan of to the Cluj-Napoca Local Council.”
