Teleworking has not been the end of offices, as some prophesied, and it has been precisely the technological companies, one of the sectors in which it is most widespread, that are now leading the rent of offices in Barcelona and, to a lesser extent, in Madrid, according to data from the CBRE consultancy, which detects “a change in the cycle in the office market” with a recovery in hiring to pre-pandemic levels.
José Mittelbrum, director of consultancy and transactions of CBRE Spain’s offices, points out that although the financial difficulties in emerging companies persist, “companies in the sector continue to grow and maintain a wild competition to attract the brightest professionals, so that for them the offices are now more important than ever”. Barcelona will once again be the most desired city in Europe to settle there, he assures. “Digital talent is very capricious and likes this city, and there is a great availability of highly qualified workers. They are attracted by the sea, the climate, the quality of life… and now, in addition, there is a large offer of high-quality offices in the 22@”, an area where high unemployment has even reduced the incomes “The city used to compete with Lisbon, Porto, Malaga and even Polish cities for some locations. But now Barcelona’s mix is ??unbeatable”, he assured, and went on to say that negotiations are underway to establish new companies and technological hubs.
According to the consultancy’s data, in Barcelona technology companies have contracted 20,000 m2 in the first quarter, and have accounted for 37% of rental operations in the city. In Madrid, on the other hand, they have contracted 20% of the space, with 28,000 m2, although 22,000 of which are the new headquarters that Siemens will build in the Las Tablas area, north of the Spanish capital. In Barcelona, ??on the other hand, the most outstanding operations were those of Amadeus (4,700 m2) and Rover (2,000 m2), both at 22@.
The hiring of offices soared in the first quarter in the two capitals: 40% in Madrid, where it reached 148,000 m2, and 60% in Barcelona, ??with 100,000 m2. “It is true that the last quarter of last year was slow due to the uncertainty of the wars, and some operations were delayed. In other words, 2024 will be good, but it will certainly not close with such high growth”.
Mittelbrum predicts that “years of much activity in the sector are coming”, due to the need for companies to switch to new office models. “They all want to attract the worker to the office, who goes voluntarily so that he is better there than at home”. In this sense, they invest more in decorating and personalizing spaces – the budget per square meter has increased by 70% – with higher quality materials, more meters for each work space, outdoor spaces such as terraces and leisure areas, socializing proposals and amenities, such as the offer of free fruit and coffee, and in a vibrant leisure and shopping environment. “Now it seems that telecommuting has reached its ceiling – the average in Spain is 2 days a week, when globally there are 3 – so companies can plan the space they will need”, he explains. “So far only 20% of the tenants have moved: all the others remain.”
After technology, the sector that has led the office market during the quarter is pharmaceuticals, both in Barcelona, ??with AstraZeneca renting the Estel building for its life sciences hub, and in Madrid with the lease by MSD of the Botanic building. “It is a sector that is very aware of environmental responsibility and the need to take care of the worker,” Mittelbrum recalled. And after this sector, the legal sector stands out, with the transfers of Garrigues, Broseta and Ontier, all to Madrid. “It is a sector in which there were still lawyers working in closed offices, which with telecommuting remain empty for a long time, and have finally moved to the collaborative model of open spaces. And the rest of the sector will add to this trend”, emphasized the manager.
The need to change offices mainly affects the largest companies, where the competition to attract front-line workers is greater and also for this reason the offer of flexibility and teleworking is greater. Also, explains Mittelbrum, the operations are on average 1,300 m2, compared to the 850 m2 that were rented on average last year.
“The big trend is polarization: towards the most central locations and the highest quality buildings”, he says. And this is being reflected in incomes, which have risen at the same time as availability has increased. So, the rent in the best buildings in Madrid has increased to 42 euros/m2/month, 20% more than the 35 euros before the pandemic, and in Barcelona the biggest increase has been in the center of city, where it has reached 24.50 euros, 15% more. Rents have only dropped to 22@, 5%, to 22.75 euros/m2/month, due to the high rate of availability, which, although it is falling, reaches 20%. “With the return of technology and the great demands in the coming months, it will be reduced”, he pointed out.
Polarization also has losers: dozens of buildings have become obsolete and, despite being central, do not attract tenants or only with large drops in income. “Many owners do not have the resources to invest in modernizing them, so they end up going up for sale. But if their location is not good, it is not even profitable to modernize them and it is preferable to change their use”, explains Mittelbrum, to hotels (27%) or especially homes (58%). Urban planning regulations make this impossible in Barcelona, ??so that last year Madrid concentrated 80% of the changes of use in all of Spain.
