Property developer Erste Group Immorent (EGI) has completed structural works on its Laurus Offices investment in Budapest. The speculative office building is scheduled for completion in the later stages of 2011 with roughly one third of the total office area pre-let.
The facility offers 14,000 square meters (sqm) of leasable office space plus an additional 1,000 of retail space on the ground floor. To date, one of the three towers comprising the complex has been let. Accounting firm BDO Forte will rent out 3,600 square meters of the total. It is currently the only partner to have formally enlisted with Laurus.
“We have considered putting off the grand opening, but we are confident of the economy’s and thereby the property market’s comeback in the second half of the year,” said Sándor Gyárfás, general manager of the developer. Therefore EGI, which purchased the partially completed project in 2008 decided to stick to its original timetable and will open the house this year as planned.
“Rental prices range between €12 to €13.5 per square meter,” Ágnes Vuk, the investment’s project development manager told the BBJ. The developer highlights that it is very flexible with prospective partners, throwing in discounts, rental-free periods as well as benefits in terms of contract duration.
The investment was originally calculated to have a budget of €31 million, but the aggregate costs are now seen lower, at €26 – 27 million, Vuk said
Laurus boasts having an excellent location being halfway between central Budapest and the Ferihegy international airport. The BBJ asked Vuk about the competitive edge that the house has over rivals like Quadrum, which is in the direct neighborhood of Ferihegy or Corvin Offices, which are directly linked via road to the airport and are already downtown. She pointed out that unlike Quadrum, Laurus is in a far better location since it has metro access, making it a better spot from employees’ perspective. Compared to Corvin, Laurus is a better option for companies that require proximity to industrial areas for their business operations, Vuk said.
Queried whether EGI would considere postponing the grand opening if the volume of rental deals prove disappointing, Vuk said “no”. “We are confident about the market in general improving and we are also bound by the terms of the pre-let contract that we have signed,” she concluded.(Gergő Rácz)
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