Representative offices of international companies in Ukraine are gradually returning employees to their offices in accordance with the global policy of parent companies, Managing Director of Colliers International (Ukraine) Oleksandr Nosachenko told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Despite COVID-19, companies are not going to give up office work. In more mature markets, companies are gradually returning employees to rented premises, given the pace of vaccination,” Nosachenko said.
According to him, such international companies as Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook are examples, which note the need for a physical presence in offices for effective teamwork, especially in the development of new projects. Ukrainian representative offices of international companies are also gradually returning employees to their offices.
In general, the office real estate market in Kyiv has become more active. According to Colliers International (Ukraine), the gross take-up of office space in the first half of 2021 amounted to about 60,000 square meters, which is 66% higher than in the first half of 2020 (some 40,000 square meters).
According to Nosachenko, the most active in terms of renting office space were companies from the IT sector, which share in the demand structure is 64% (about 40,000 square meters). FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies occupied about 10% (about 5,000 square meters) in the total demand structure.
During the first half of 2021, five business centers with a total area of more than 71,000 square meters were put into operation. The long-term construction at the metro station Lukianivska –LUWR business center (gross leasable area of 27,000 square meters), a business center at the metro station Taras Shevchenko (gross leasable area of 21,200 square meters), two business centers on Zoolohichna Street (gross leasable areas of 11,820 square meters; 6,000 square meters) and a business center as part of the River Mall – River Mall business center (gross leasable area of 5,000 square meters).
Thus, at the end of the first half of 2021, the cumulative supply of professional office space in Kyiv reached more than 2.218 million square meters.
“The total area of commissioned facilities is about 34.8% of the total volume of premises announced by developers for 2021,” Nosachenko said.
At the same time, during the first half of 2021, due to increased demand, there is a decrease in the average vacancy rate in business centers of A and B classes to 11.1% (at the end of 2020 it was 11.5%).
The vacancy rate in A class business centers decreased from 10.8% at the beginning of the year to 10.6%. The vacancy rate in B class buildings decreased from 11.6% to 11.3%, respectively.
Analysts from Colliers International (Ukraine) note a moderate increase in rental rates for office premises following the first half of 2021.
The prime headline rent remains at $26 per a square meter per month, as in 2020. In the first half of 2021, in the A class buildings, there was an increase in the lower limit indicator: from $18 per a square meter per month to $19 per a square meter per month. The range of rental rates in the B class buildings has changed from $11-19 per a square meter per month in 2020 to $12-20 per a square meter per month in the first half of 2021.
According to developers, in the second half of 2021, eight business centers are planned for commissioning, with a total area of about 130,000 square meters. Among them, the only one is class A – Magnett business center (the first stage of gross leasable area is 44,000 square meters).
Colliers International is a leading diversified professional services provider in commercial real estate. The company’s offices are represented in 67 countries of the world.
EMPLOYEES, INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES, RENTED PREMISES, RETURNING
More and more Ukrainians are returning to Poland to work, the Analytical Department of the Gremi Personal international employment company has said.
According to the Polish Social Insurance Fund, some 22,000 more foreign labour migrants were registered in July. In total, the register contains 628,000 foreigners, payers of ZUS (insurance payments) and, first of all, they are Ukrainians.
Earlier in its research, the Analytical Center of Gremi Personal said: “The pandemic is a chance for Polish employers to keep labour migrants who were previously going to work in other countries. However, if there is no more loyal visa program at the state level, as well as promoting the assimilation of Ukrainians, after lockdown, they will increasingly choose not Poland, but, for example, the Czech Republic and Germany. So far, the flow of Ukrainians to Poland is the most stable due to the most convenient logistics and relatively stable economic situation in Poland. At the same time, the supply of jobs from Polish employers in logistics, food production, furniture industry, household appliances and construction is increasing. In these areas, work for Ukrainians will be until the end of the year.”
Gremi Personal also said that “this year in August, significantly fewer Ukrainians working in Poland started to temporarily leave for Ukraine to prepare children for the new school year; at the same time, a tangible increase in labour migrants is expected from September, when Ukrainians traditionally go to work in Poland, and Polish enterprises that employ Ukrainians are increasing production volumes before the New Year holidays.”
