In the fourth quarter of 2023, the total office stock in Bratislava represented 2.09 million sqm. 19 % of total stock consists of class A+ office space, 37 % of A class, and 44 % of class B office space.
During the fourth quarter of 2023, one new office building was added to the supply – The Mill. It is a building of the highest standard A+ with an area of 24,500 sq m, and by the time of its completion, it was almost fully pre-leased.
In terms of the ownership structure, similarly to the previous quarter, approximately 4% of the office stock is state-owned, almost 12% are buildings owned and fully occupied by the same entity, and the total stock for commercial use stands at 84% (or around 1.7 million sqm) of total modern office stock in Bratislava.
Green Certified Buildings
In total, Bratislava offers almost 852,220 sqm of office space with a valid green/sustainable building certificate. This is 41% of the total volume of office space in Bratislava. Currently, 45 out of 278 buildings meet the criteria. 65% of the certified stock has BREEAM, 4% combination of BREEAM / WELL GOLD and 31% LEED certificate. Only two buildings in Bratislava have the highest BREEAM Outstanding rating - Twin City Tower and Pribinova 40. In the case of LEED Platinum, it is Ein Park Offices which also achieved LEED Zero Carbon certificate and became Slovak’s first carbon-neutral building.
Office Market Transactions (Take-Up)
Leasing transactions reached an area of 46,700 sqm in the fourth quarter of 2023, which represents a 17% increase compared to the previous quarter. However, in a year-on-year comparison, the volume of leased space decreased by 14%.
The largest portion was made up of renegotiations, in a volume of 47%, new leases, in a volume of 41% and expansions representing 12%.
Take-up was dominated by transactions in the IT sector with a size of 14,500 sqm, followed by Professional services accounting for 12,000 sqm. The largest transaction was in the IT sector with an amount of 5,600 sqm. A total of 15 transactions were recorded with an area of over 1,000 sqm.
Most of the leased space this quarter was leased within the IT (35.63%), Professional services (28.48%) and Pharma sector (22.41%).
Take-up took place mostly in A-class buildings, accounting for 52%, followed by B-class with an amount of 30% and A+ class with a share of 18%. This confirmed the interest in higher-standard buildings.
Significant Office Transactions in Q4
Office Vacancy
The overall vacancy rate in Bratislava increased by 40 bps compared to the previous quarter to 14.20 %. The lowest vacancy rate was recorded in the City Center (8.57 %), followed by the Inner City submarket (9.78 %), South Bank (11.26 %), CBD (16.54 %), and Outer City, recording the highest vacancy rate of 20.25 %.
The increase in vacancy is most significantly due to the relocations of a large tenants from the outskirts of the city. In the CBD area, the completion of two new buildings in the previous quarter caused a slight increase in vacancy. On the other hand, it should be noted that the completed The Mill project is already almost fully leased.
In terms of vacancy in buildings classes, A+ class recorded vacancy of 13.70%, A-class 18.05% and B-class 11.16%
Prime Rent
Prime rent hasn’t changed and remains at a level of 18,00 €/sqm/month.
For further information please contact any member of the Bratislava Research Forum.