The total supply of office space in Kiev increased by 34 thousand square meters, or 4%, to 2.26 million square meters in 2024, the press service of CBRE Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine. According to the latest research of Kyiv office real estate market by CBRE Ukraine, business centers Tw12ve (16 thousand sq. m.), Heritage (13.3 thousand sq. m.) and Stoic (4 5 thousand sq. m.) were commissioned in 2024.
The rate of commissioning of new office space last year was the lowest since 2017. Among the key factors limiting developer activity, CBRE Ukraine highlighted security risks and uncertainty, rising construction costs, limited access to financing and a shortage of skilled labor.
At the same time, rental market activity increased: the volume of annual gross absorption amounted to about 129 thousand sqm (+42% y/y).
“It is noteworthy that the volume of absorption in 2024 corresponds to the level of 2020 and remains only 4% lower than in 2021, reflecting almost a return to pre-war market conditions,” said Anna Silvestrova, Senior Director of Office Real Estate and Tenant Relations at CBRE Ukraine.
The structure of gross absorption was dominated by small transactions of 200-500 sqm, while large transactions of over 4-5 thousand sqm were sporadic, although several significant transactions supported the market. The structure by business sector was dominated by IT and telecom companies with a 25% share (-26% YoY), followed by the public sector (government or non-profit organizations) with a 15% share (-8% YoY).
Moves continued to lead by deal type with 38% (-20pc y/y), rising to 25% (+15pc y/y) of exit deals.
“While in the pre-war period relocations were mainly driven by lease expirations or staff expansions/downsizing, current market conditions have led to a structural shift, allowing companies that were previously non-users of professional office space to move into Class A and B properties. This trend has attracted new tenants to areas previously dominated by large corporate companies, emphasizing the growing availability of quality office space,” says Silvestrova.
The average vacancy rate on the office real estate market decreased by 2.7 p.p. since the beginning of the year to 22% y/y. This was the first significant year-on-year increase in occupancy since pre-war 2021 (when vacancy was at 14.1%).
The bulk of vacancy was concentrated in new developments, some of which are almost entirely vacant, as well as in lower quality buildings typically located outside the DDR. Notably, Class B vacancy fell significantly to 22.1% (-5pc YTD), mainly due to tenants moving out of non-professional properties. At the same time, vacancy in Class A office space remained stable at 22.7% at the end of the year.
The effective prime rate remained stable at $19/sqm/month. Asking rental rates in Class A and B facilities fluctuated within $16-22/sq.m/month and $8-15/sq.m/month respectively.
The gap between declared and effective rates in the best properties continues to narrow, indicating that landlords have shifted to a more realistic approach to pricing. The market has predominantly returned to standard 3-5 year leases with more flexible terms, including early exit options. However, in some cases there is still a practice of locking in favorable lease terms until the end of martial law or for a term mutually agreed upon by the parties.
“We expect that rental activity should maintain positive momentum in 2025, contributing to further growth in office occupancy. Tenants will continue to focus on quality office buildings with safety shelters in sought-after locations, while properties that do not meet these requirements will continue to face occupancy issues,” says Silvestrova.
In the absence of significant security or economic shocks, she says, the market is poised for a gradual but steady recovery, especially with the widely anticipated end of hostilities in 2025.
Headquartered in Dallas (USA), CBRE is the world’s largest commercial real estate consulting and investment company with revenues of $35.8 billion in 2024. CBRE Group Inc. shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
CBRE’s Ukrainian office was opened in January 2008 and is part of the company’s affiliate network. In 2023, the Ukrainian office expanded its presence in Moldova under the CBRE Moldova brand.
DIM Group and Maxim Krippa, owner of the Parus business center and Ukraina Hotel, have finalized a partnership and cooperation agreement, the developer’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
It is noted that Ukrainian businessman Krippa continues to expand his real estate investment portfolio, which this time will be replenished with residential properties. Following the acquisition of Kyiv’s largest business center Parus in 2023 and the privatization of the historic Ukraina Hotel in 2024, Crippa announced an investment in the DIM Group, a leader in residential development in the capital region.
“I decided to invest in DIM’s projects not only because of their significant investment potential, but also because of our common attitude to doing business during the war: they are not afraid to build, I am not afraid to invest,” said Crippa.
Krippa’s participation will ensure the completion of the construction of the developer’s current facilities and the start of work on new large-scale projects.
“The participation of Maxim Krippa’s development group of companies will allow us to be independent of sales volumes, keep the pace of construction and ensure our investors that the construction of the facilities is completed on time. In addition, we will be able to start working on new projects with confidence,” said Oleksandr Nasikovsky, founder and managing partner of DIM Group, as quoted in the press release.
The portfolio of the DIM development company consists of real estate in Kyiv and the region with a total area of more than 900 thousand square meters. The company has commissioned 3,670 apartments and built more than 356 thousand square meters of residential and commercial space. There are 6 projects under construction with a total area of over 346 thousand square meters.
“Kovlar Group” together with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine have developed innovative products for defense purposes, said the head of ‘Kovlar Group’ Konstantin Kalafat in an interview with the agency ‘Interfax-Ukraine’.
“Together with leading institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, we have developed and put into production a universal means for urgent individual decontamination of chemical weapons components and a multilayer anti-radar paint coating.
Now we are developing a fireproof roll material for organization of fast mobile fire protection at defense facilities and during restoration of energy complex structures,” he said.
He emphasized that the production of fireproofing materials is an activity with a high share of intellectual and scientific component.
“Paint, plaster or board intended for fire protection is not an ordinary construction material, which is evaluated by the parameters of aesthetics, durability, resistance to external influences and the like. First of all, fireproofing material is a kind of chemical reactor, the components of which in fire conditions must react with each other, providing standardized indicators of stability of the building structure. Secondly, the fire protection industry is a very dynamic system that constantly requires materials and solutions with high fire protection and performance characteristics. In the last 10 years alone, the requirements for thin coat fire retardant paints have increased from a maximum fire resistance limit of 90 minutes to 180 minutes,” said Kalafat.
The means, which is to enter the fire protection market, is subject to mandatory specialized tests and certification, which determine its fire protection efficiency, which is the result of scientific research to create an effective formulation and verdict, so developed material is promising.
“The main prerequisite for the organization of an enterprise for the production of passive fire protection means is the availability of scientific potential, experience and knowledge that would allow to create a new quality product, competitive in the world market of similar materials,” summarized Kalafat.
Kovlar Group LLC was founded in 2015, authorized capital UAH 1.2 million, ultimate beneficiaries Konstantin Kalafat (40%), Andrey Ozeychuk (35%) and Lyubov Vakhitova (25%). According to the data of opendatabot, according to the results of three quarters of 2024, the company received 73 million 726.4 thousand UAH of income; net profit of 10 million 228.6 thousand UAH.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/news/economic/1050819.html
Businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky’s bank Credit Dnipro managed to double its loan portfolio last year, with 80% of the growth coming from an increase in corporate loans.
“In 2024, the bank’s loan portfolio doubled, and 80% of the growth was in corporate financing, while the growth of our agricultural portfolio was 65%,” said Serhiy Panov, Chairman of the Board of the financial institution, in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the bank’s loan portfolio amounted to UAH 7.83 billion as of January 1, 2025, of which UAH 6.88 billion was to businesses.
The Chairman of the Board said that in 2024, the bank’s retail business “opened a second wind”: customers were offered a new mobile application, the development of the regional network continued, and the financial institution entered the top 5 banks in terms of lending under the eHouse state program.
“This year, we aim to increase our momentum and increase our presence in the retail sector,” Panov said.
As of January 1, 2025, according to the National Bank’s statistics, the financial institution ranked 20th in terms of total assets (UAH 24.34 billion) among 61 banks in the country. The bank’s net profit last year amounted to UAH 175 million.
The real gross domestic product (GDP) of Ukraine in January 2025 grew by 2% compared to January 2024, while in December 2024 the growth was recorded at 1.6% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to the Monthly Economic Monitoring of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER).
“The main reasons for the accelerated growth are a smaller decline in agriculture, which now reflects only livestock indicators, the absence of massive scheduled power outages, and an increase in private consumption. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, real production in livestock is slightly declining. The number of cattle has declined, while the situation in poultry farming is more favorable. According to IER estimates, real gross value added (GVA) in agriculture decreased by 0.9% year-on-year in January,” the study says.
It is emphasized that the approach of the frontline and the complete closure of mines near Pokrovsk have negatively affected the pace of economic recovery in Ukraine and led to a decline in the mining industry.
At the same time, the situation with iron ore production remains positive. So far, according to the IER, real GVA in the mining industry decreased by 2.9% in January 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier. At the same time, the approaching frontline may have an even more negative impact on the performance of the extractive industry in the coming months.
However, the absence of planned massive power outages had a positive impact on the performance of the manufacturing industry. Domestic demand for the products of industries focused on the domestic market was also favorable. External demand also helped the steel industry. However, the IER notes that the statistical base was high in January. In general, although some industries showed a decrease in output, in the manufacturing industry, real gross domestic product increased by 3% in January (compared to January 2024).
“The destruction of electricity generation by the Russians was not fully compensated by repairs and new generation. In addition, the demand for electricity was lower this year due to warm weather and emergency power outages as a preventive measure during shelling. As a result, according to our estimates, the real GVA in the industry decreased by 5.1% in January (compared to January-2024),” the IER states.
At the same time, in trade, real gross domestic product continues to grow due to higher wages and social payments. Consumption is also growing amid high inflation expectations. In January, the real growth in trade gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 4.9% (compared to January 2014). At the same time, due to the suspension of Russian gas transit to the EU, real GVA in transport decreased by 1.1% compared to the same period last year.
The IER added that Russia continues to attack Ukraine’s port infrastructure. In late January and early February, there were several attacks on the ports of Odesa, Izmail and Chornomorsk, which damaged port infrastructure. In January, Ukraine exported 6.6 million tons of goods by sea.
In January, 14 million tons of cargo were transported by rail, which is at the level of December 2024 and 1% less than in January 2024. Of these, 5.5 million tons were transported to ports and 2 million tons to the western border. Ore (44%), grain (38%), and ferrous metals (6%) account for the largest share of transportation.
In addition, in the first month of 2025, exports of goods fell by 6% compared to January 2024 and by 4% compared to December 2024, to $3.18 billion. Exports of agricultural goods continued to decline compared to previous months amid declining inventories. Agricultural exports fell by 18% yoy (compared to January-2024) to $1.85 billion due to a smaller harvest and lower carryover stocks at the beginning of the marketing year. Physical volumes of exports of key agricultural commodities fell even further, but export revenues were supported by higher prices and the gradual diversification of agricultural exports.
Merchandise imports fell to $5.55 bn in January, reflecting a seasonal decline in imports compared to December. In annual terms, imports increased by 9% (compared to the same period of the previous year). Imports of machinery and equipment amounted to $2.16 billion, up 17% compared to January 2024, in particular due to a sharp increase in imports of energy equipment ($431 million in January 2025 compared to $85 million in January 2024). At the same time, imports of cars fell.
Among other things, the IER forecasts real GDP growth of 2.9% in 2025 and 3.2% in 2026.
As reported by the Ministry of Economy, Ukraine’s GDP grew by 1.5% in January-2025, driven by the construction industry, manufacturing, and domestic trade.
The World Bank also downgraded its forecast for Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2025 to 2% from 6.5% in its June report, but improved it for 2026 to 7% from 5.1% in its Global Economic Outlook published on January 17.
The National Bank of Ukraine has also changed its forecasts. Given security risks and the difficult situation on the labor market, the NBU has lowered its real GDP growth forecast for 2025 to 3.6%.
Zaporozhkoks, one of Ukraine’s largest coke and chemical producers and a member of Metinvest Group, increased its investments in production facilities by a quarter year-on-year in 2024, up to UAH 321 million from UAH 257 million.
According to the company, last year’s investments were directed to a program of major overhauls of production facilities, as well as investment projects in occupational safety, information technology, and the social sphere.
Zaporozhkoks CEO Oleksandr Bekhter named ensuring the uninterrupted operation of the company’s main production assets to maintain the company’s performance in the war as one of his key priorities last year and this year.
“To this end, we continue to invest in programs to support key equipment and important repairs. In 2025, as part of the program of overhauls and investments, Zaporizhkoks will continue to overhaul coke oven battery (COB) No. 2 with the relining of three walls, implement the Working Life program and a number of projects to maintain equipment for a total of almost UAH 324 million,” the CEO said.
It is specified that one of the key equipment upgrade projects implemented last year at the enterprise was the overhaul of coke oven battery No. 2 with the relocation of four walls of coking chambers with a budget of almost UAH 72 million. This allowed us to extend the life of the unit and reduce the environmental impact. To increase the production capacity of the coke shop, the company also purchased a coke oven car for receiving and transporting coke.
As part of the overhaul program, the company also repaired coke ejector No. 3 in the coke shop, regenerator No. 11 in the desulphurization shop, pipelines of the recovery shop, and the U-30 charge feeding line of the coal preparation shop, etc.
“In 2024, Zaporozhkoks continued to implement its corporate program to improve the working environment, Working Life, and overhauled the main sanitary and amenity building and other amenities for UAH 3.8 million. During the year, the company also implemented a number of investment projects to upgrade its IT infrastructure, occupational health and safety.
“Zaporizhkoks has a full technological cycle of coke and chemical products processing.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining group of companies. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
