Atenor Completes Latest Phase of Váci Greens

Váci Greens F, completed by Atenor.

Most developers say the office market continues to function according to schedule from a development and leasing perspective, although permitting can take longer and physical office viewings have not been possible in many cases.  

“The past oversupply has caused developers to be cautious, which is apparent in the low level of new stock delivered since 2011. Whilst the pipeline for 2020-2022 shows an increased level, more than 60% of this amount is already prelet and therefore availability in modern class ‘A’ stock is expected to remain unchanged,” says consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.      

The phased Váci Greens project has been ongoing for seven years and was planned and conceived at a difficult period for the Budapest office market. From the total area of 123,000 sqm, 100,000 sqm has already been leased and five of the six office buildings have been sold to domestic and international investors.  

Tenants at the complex currently employ close to 8,500 staff and with the handover of the last phase (Building “E”), the number of employees will increase to 12,000-13,000. In Atenor’s other major project, Aréna Business Campus building “A” has received an occupancy permit and deep foundation works have been completed at building “B.”  

“There is a temporary slight slowdown in the field of new office enquiries as some of the occupiers now prefer a ‘waiting strategy’, but we have still experienced that all in all the demand is there and will be there,” says Zoltán Borbély, country director of Atenor in Hungary.  

Attractive Market

“The Budapest market remains attractive for SSC and BPO businesses where new potential market entrants have been registered. None of our construction works have stopped or delayed, all four projects are being built continuously,” Borbély adds.

Regarding a possible exit strategy with a sale to domestic or international investors, sales transactions are ongoing.  

“It is true that those negotiations which were in the due diligence phase are ongoing slower, but we do not expect a freeze of the investment market,” explains Nikolett Püschl, leasing and development director at Atenor Hungary.  

“Soon, when travel will be allowed, we believe these transactions will speed up again. Fortunately, the current pandemic situation did not result in any delay of our office projects, neither building-wise nor leased premises wise,” she says.

In a positive development elsewhere in the capital, Germany’s Allianz Real Estate has acquired the 23,500 sqm Eiffel Square office complex in a deal structured off-market by JLL. The transaction was signed in May and closed in early June.  

“This deal was […] mainly negotiated during the lock down period. Our teams are now back in the office and we work hard to revive the dynamic of the market we had before the outbreak,” says Benjamin Perez Ellischewitz, head of capital markets at JLL.  

“With regard to investment, the travel possibility is the key. Once all borders are open across Europe, the investment will get back to normal,” Püschl concludes.