Office request in Romanian totalized nearly 140,000 sq. m, from with a third representing rented spaces outside Bucharest, in cities such as Iași, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca and Brașov.

"The office market continues to perform very well this year too. The new request (pre-rentals and new leases) totalled more than 70,000 sq. m, namely half of the market. This shows that Romania stays attractive for investors. Moreover, the large number of rentals outside Bucharest is creating an attractive and competitive investment environment, and the appearance on the local market of big names from different fields could attract in the future other international players too", has declared Claudia Cetățoiu, senior consultant Tenant Representation JLL Romania.

The structure on cities shows that in Bucharest the request registered almost 100,000 sq. m in the first quarter, the double of the rented area in the similar period of last year. The largest transaction signed in the capital was for 13,000 sq. m, though representing an extension of an existing contract.

The city of Iași is competing this year with Bucharest, registering one of the two largest transactions within the period January-March 2016, 13,000sq.m. The total transacted area registered in Iași was 17,200 sq. m, in Timișoara, 16,300 sq.m, followed by the cities of Brașov and Cluj-Napoca.

Overall, in the large cities outside Bucharest, the office area transacted in the first three months was nearly 41,000 sq. m, compared to 18,800sq.m in the similar period of 2015.

The companies in BPO, IT&C and professional services fields continue to lead the request volume this year too in Romania, with more than 60 pct. of the total area transacted in the first quarter, while the banking and financial services sectors rented 10,000 sq.m and the FMCG companies signed contracts for 3,000 sq. m. (source: profit.ro)