London AIM-listed property company Globalworth is now the full owner of Green Court, Skanska's first office project in Bucharest, after acquiring the third and final building of the complex for €38 mln.
Skanska Commercial Development Europe, part of Swedish construction group Skanska, sold the 16,000 m2 Building C after it was commissioned for use this month.
The three-building Green Court Bucharest complex comprises a total leasable area of 54,300 m2 and is located in Floreasca - Barbu Vacarescu, a district described by Skanska as a new central business district in the Romanian capital.
The histories of Green Court Bucharest and Globalworth run in parallel. Skanska began the project in 2013, the same year that Greek billionaire investor-developer Ioannis Papalekas incorporated Globalworth as a closed-ended real estate investment company in Guernsey. Globalworth was admitted to London's AIM market in July 2013, a month after the company finalised the acquisition of Building A in June 2015. The acquisition of Building B followed in December 2015.
Green Court Bucharest is already fully leased to major tenants such as General Motors, Capgemini, ABB, Merck, Orange, Grand Thornton, and Legrand. The office complex has received LEED Gold certification and features sustainable systems to both minimize the building’s environmental footprint and significantly reduce its operating costs.
Skanska was advised by CBRE, acting as the company's exclusive agent, and by PeliFilip acting as legal adviser in the sale of Building C.
CEE and SEE
Globalworth, headed by Papalekas as CEO, focuses on real estate investment primarily in its native Romania, though its remits extends to the rest of South Eastern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe. The company's portfolio, made up of office properties and logistics/light industrial assets, was valued at €997 mln at end-December 2016.
'The acquisition of Green Court Bucharest's building C and the fact that, following its completion, Globalworth will become the sole owner of the campus is a very important step for the company,' commented Dimitris Raptis, deputy CEO and chief investment officer at Globalworth.
'We are delighted that our partnership with Skanska continues to offer companies, active on the local market, the offices they need. The transaction is a great opportunity to further develop our promise to create modern, high-quality, sustainable spaces, located in the city’s largest and most sought-after office hub,' he added.
Bucharest market
Skanska also expressed satisfaction at the disposal of its first project in Bucharest, which comes six months after the announcement of its second project in the city, Campus City. The developer is investing €38 mln in the first office building of the project located in Western Bucharest.
'Three deals with one partner – the leading office investor in Romania – is a great success for us. This illustrates that international players appreciate favourable yield levels in Bucharest and the availability of high-quality office products on this local market, which together allows them to make profitable investment decisions,' said Adrian Karczewicz, head of divestments at Skanska's commercial development division in Central and Eastern Europe. 'There is no doubt that the Green Court Bucharest complex is a prestigious asset – a flagship asset for Globalworth’s portfolio.'
The Bucharest office market has been regaining momentum in recent years. According to reports by CBRE, 2016 set a new record for the Bucharest office leasing market, with over 400,000 m2 transacted, a trend which has continued into the first three months of 2017 during which around 94,000 m2 was transacted.
