Companies moving to more central business locations to take advantage of subdued rents helped push up prime office rents in Moscow and Warsaw by 4.3% and 3.8% in the final quarter of 2011, according to the latest research from property adviser CBRE.
Companies moving to more central business locations to take advantage of subdued rents helped push up prime office rents in Moscow and Warsaw by 4.3% and 3.8% in the final quarter of 2011, according to the latest research from property adviser CBRE.
This recentralisation trend was less pronounced in other markets such as Frankfurt, where it was offset by the need for corporates to cut costs. Cost control remains a key factor driving location decisions, according lto CBRE.
Prime rents across the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region remained static in Q4 2011, with the CBRE EU-27 Office Rent Index edging up only slightly (0.2%).
Occupier demand remained broadly stable in 2011 compared with the previous year, despite weakening economic sentiment and the ongoing tensions in financial markets, CBRE said. Some markets, including Paris, Milan and Munich, saw significant increases in leasing activity relative to their 2010 levels.
Demand from technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) companies was a key driver of office space growth in a number of markets. Amsterdam, for example, which is seen as a connectivity hub and of strategic importance to TMT occupiers, experienced a 15% increase in take-up year-on-year in 2011. Dublin witnessed even stronger absorption with a 29% increase in office take-up compared to the previous year.
