In Vilnius, the amount of vacant office space in business centers is decreasing significantly – In the last quarter of 2017, the total vacancy (free office space) reached only 3.9 percent, while in the same period a year ago it was 6.5 percent. The vacancy rate of the business centers of the real estate development company “Eika” at the end of 2017 reached 2 percent (a year ago – 9 percent), and will drop to 0 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2018. At the beginning of the year, contracts were signed with companies providing cybersecurity, IT cloud solutions and legal services.
After successfully signing contracts with new tenants, the business-class office complex with a total area of more than 15,000 sq m, consisting of two 12-story “twins” at Goštauto St. 40A and 40B, will be fully occupied.
According to Giedrius Brūzgė, Director of the Asset Management Department at Eika, the rental area of commercial premises in the capital is constantly growing, but demand remains high and finding spacious, larger premises takes time.
“For most companies, location remains one of the main criteria, they are reluctant to move further from the center, so their offer of commercial premises for rent in business centers is limited. In addition, the preferences of tenants are also changing. They are looking for large spaces where they can plan cozy leisure facilities, original meeting rooms, and creative ideas would be encouraged by the panorama opening from the window. New energetic tenants prove that we meet these criteria,” says G. Brūzgė.
Tesonet, a cybersecurity solutions company, has become a tenant at one of Eika’s business centers. The rapidly growing company has leased 546 sq m of premises on the 12th floor of the business center.
“Due to the rapid development of the company and the growing number of employees, we have changed as many as five offices in a few years, creating 180 jobs. So, the need to rent new commercial premises naturally arose. Currently, the company employs more than 270 employees, located in three adjacent locations. In order to accommodate everyone in one office, we would probably have to search and wait for a year or two, and when looking for additional space, finding premises is not particularly difficult, we are still receiving offers. Currently, we are planning about 50 new jobs in the new business center,” says Toma Sabaliauskienė, Marketing Manager at Tesonet.
One of Tesonet’s main criteria for renting premises was a good location. Also of great importance was a parking lot, premises that meet the vision with leisure spaces and comfortable workplaces, and an added value – a panorama from the window.
The second major tenant of Eika business centers has become LayerV, an IT cloud solutions provider with operations in both Lithuania and the United Kingdom. They left their premises on Liejyklos Street in the capital’s Old Town and moved to a 546 sq. m space – they rented the entire 9th floor of A. Goštauto 40B.
“I would single out several reasons for the move – the desire to provide employees with more comfortable working conditions and meet the company’s development needs. We were looking for a modern office in a remote business center near the Old Town with spacious premises and good parking. From several options offered, we chose the Eika business center, where 30 employees started working at the end of January,” says Lina Mikėnienė, LayerV’s HR manager.
The third major tenant is legal services company AAA Law, a business and intellectual property law firm operating in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which has leased 432 sq m of premises in one of Eika’s twin business centers. The law firm and patent attorneys, which has grown over the past twenty-five years, will create over 40 jobs in the new business center.
“We have been located in this business district since the establishment of our office, so we were looking for premises where it would continue to be convenient and easy for clients to reach us. The new business centers perfectly met the needs of our location and were ideal for our growing team. In addition, they met all the necessary comfort criteria,” emphasizes Otilija Klimaitienė, director of AAA Law.