The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the surface preexisting conflicts of interests between the players on the office market.
As Florian Nitu, Managing Partner at Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii said during CEDER 2021, from the developer’s perspective, “they are going to look to projects that will address the new concerns – hybridity, mixed possibilities of use, fluidity. But all of them together sometimes don’t match”.
Tenants on the other hand will want “only super-modern, tech-wise developments”. They will want to see all the benefits in a serviced space, which means the tenants are treated more like consumers.
“For future developments we expect to see more partnerships than simple bilateral contracts. The flexibility is here to stay,” Nitu explained. Meanwhile, the investors look at super-green, soon to become carbon neutral assets, so the new developments must be designed that way.
“Expectations on the investment side, the developers’ and on the users’ side are changing and they are not aligned, so the legal matrix changes. There will be structural changes in how the office sector will be addressed from the contract perspective. We’re seeing less unbreakable conditions. So either you get flexibility, ability to maneuver and you are committed on a long-term contract, or if you don’t get that, don’t expect a long commitment. This has tremendous effects on the leasing market,” Nitu commented.
