BarcelonaOffice rental has regained momentum in Barcelona this year. The hiring between the months of January and September exceeds 215,000 square meters, which equals the best record after the pandemic. Some good records that have reawakened the appetite of investors. During the first nine months of the year, investment in offices in the Catalan capital has risen to 353 million euros, which is 37% more than the amount allocated throughout 2023, according to the latest report of CBRE consultancy office market.
In the third quarter alone, 60,000 square meters have been leased in Barcelona and the rate of contracting in the second quarter is maintained, and practically exceeds by 70% the volume recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. In fact, the 215,000 square meters contracted between January and September exceed by 50% the area contracted in the same period last year and are almost 10% above the average of the last five years.
Companies related to the life sciences are particularly active, as evidenced by the pace of commercialization of Esplugues Campus, which will already have its first two tenants and almost 9,500 square meters leased, or AstraZeneca’s operation with the pre-leasing of half of the Estel building in the first half of the year. This transaction is in line with the national trend of large rental operations (over 5,000 square meters of surface area).
Between January and September, Barcelona has registered five operations with surfaces above this figure, when in the same period last year there was only one. In addition to the AstraZeneca operation, the rental of more than 6,000 square meters by the Diputació de Barcelona in the Green Business District is also noteworthy. In addition to these large operations, there are ten more that exceed 2,500 square meters, almost double those signed in the same period of 2023.
In terms of areas, the 22@ is still on the road to recovery and, like the first semester, represents a little more than 30% of the leased area, in line with the usual average for this market.
Investment and internal capital
Investment in the third quarter has exceeded 180 million euros, almost 7 times more than the 27 million euros registered in the same quarter a year earlier. Between January and September, the figure was 353 million euros, 37% more than in 2023. This increase is largely due to the closure of larger operations, with an average ticket of 45 million euros in the last quarter. One of the latest operations has been the purchase by the French fund Corum of building number 4 of the World Trade Center (WTC) Almeda Park in Cornellà de Llobregat, leased to Revlon under a long-term contract.
“Domestic capital has been the most active in the operations registered until September, with more than 80% of the volume transacted,” said the director of capital markets Barcelona by CBRE, Alex Pazos. “In any case – he adds – more and more international capital is interested in Barcelona, as the WTC Almeda Park operation demonstrates.”
