Budapest Business Journal 2717

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BUSINESS JOURNAL BUDAPEST

VOL. 27. NUMBER 17

SEPTEMBER 20 – OCTOBER 7, 2019

SPECIAL REPORT

Green Business

SPECIAL REPORT

Building a Better, Greener Future for Budapest Real estate editor Gary J. Morrell speaks with Éva Beleznay, architect, planner and sustainability consultant about the sustainable development challenges that Budapest faces.  12 SPECIAL REPORT

Sustainability Accreditation the Norm Across CEE Accreditation for commercial real estate developments from an independent, third-party sustainability organization is now very much the norm for development in CEE office markets and increasingly in other sectors such as logistics and retail. 22

SOCIALITE

Why is Bryan Adams Coming to Budapest?

Banking on Budapest

On September 28, Bryan Adams will give a free concert in Heroes’ Square to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Hungarian National Lottery Company’s “Scandinavian” lotto.

David Holzer recalls a brief meeting with the pocket-sized Canadian rock star. 29

NEWS

Industry Breaks Records, Inflation Closer to Target Breaking a more-than-two-year record, Hungary’s industrial output rose by an annual 12% in July, or by 8.7% based on working-day adjusted data from the Central Statisitcal Office. 3

NE BUSI

SS

In a wideranging and exclusive interview, David Livingstone, Citi’s CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa talks about his firm’s core banking business in Hungary, its Budapest service center, the bank levy, the effects of Brexit, and the challenges of finding and retaining key talent in an ever-tighter labor BUSINESS market.6

Leveraging the Future Today

For years, artificial intelligence has been a staple of the sci-fi world, albeit one placed firmly in the future.

But as SAP Hungary’s managing director Szabolcs Pintér tells the Budapest Business Journal, it is now very much part of the present. 8

News

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

THE EDITOR SAYS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robin Marshall EDITORIAL STAFF: Zsófia Czifra, Kester

Eddy, Bence Gaál, David Holzer, Éva Kaszap, Christian Keszthelyi, Gary J. Morrell, Robert Smyth, Zsófia Végh.

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SUSTAINABILITY AND OFFICES: THE CHICKEN AND THE EGG OF OUR TIMES (SORT OF) I have always thought the chicken and egg causality dilemma (OK, I confess that I looked that up) really serves no purpose at all, apart possibly as an exercise in teaching children the futility of pursuing a circular argument. Whichever came first, we have them both today, so let’s all just move along, ladies and gentlemen, there’s nothing to see here.

I feel much the same about sustainability and offices (although I would bet the mortgage on the fact that offices really did come first in this case). I know some real estate professionals who sneer at the concept of sustainability, who argue that it doesn’t make a difference, that price per square meter will always trump the use of rainwater for irrigation, and that if they really thought they could get away with it, developers would not bother with the extra hassle of getting accreditation.

There are plenty of others, quite possibly the majority, who would argue against all of those viewpoints. You will find many of those arguments rehearsed in this issue’s special report. But even if the naysayers were right, I am not sure it would make any difference. The sustainability genie is out of the bottle, and I do not think it will ever be forced back in. Like chickens and eggs, we have both sustainability and offices in our lives today.

Whether they really believed in the concept in their hearts or not, there was a period when sustainability was clearly a differentiator for those developers who were early adopters. As the cost of the technology on which so much of sustainability relies has come down, it has become easier (or at least financially less bothersome)

to pursue a green agenda. But no one wants to be the negative outlier, the one developer who does not follow a sustainability path. In a very tight labor market, companies do want to keep their employees happy, and “green offices” are one of the must have items for Millennials (along with a good salary, naturally). That means tenants must look for offices that are sustainable, and investors need to do the same to make sure their buildings are full of tenants and delivering an ROI. That, in turn, means developers must build offices that are sustainable and, oh, look; we are back in another circular argument.

All new office builds (and increasingly the same can be said of warehouses and hotels and residential and retail) have one or more of BREEAM or LEED or WELL accreditation; I am sure someone, somewhere is pursuing the modern day environmental holy trinity of all three.

The fact that the owners of older buildings are now increasingly retrofitting to make offices as sustainable as the structures will allow tells you this is no passing fad. The effects of government and EU regulation are also not to be ignored.

There is always the possibility the means of delivery will change (remember when diesel was the environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline?), but the direction of travel will not. Sustainability is here to stay, and we are all better off for it.

Robin Marshall Editor-in-chief

1

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

News///macroscope

Industry Breaks Records, Inflation Moves Closer to MNB’s Target

Breaking a morethan-two-year record, Hungary’s industrial output rose by an annual 12% in July.

According to figures published by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), the production rose by 8.7% based on working-day adjusted data.

ZSÓFIA CZIFRA

In a month-on-month comparison, output in July was up 1.7%, KSH said. Year-on-year output of Hungary’s automotive sector, an engine of industrial growth (if you will pardon the pun), rose by 34.6% in July; the highest rate in years, albeit from a low base, KSH said. In the period January-July, industrial output increased by 6.3% year on year.

KSH noted that the vast majority of manufacturing subsections contributed to

Central Bank Governor Scolds Finance Minister for Comments on Economy The governor of the National Bank of Hungary, György Matolcsy, has harshly criticized Minister of Finance Mihály Varga for saying that the Hungarian economy’s “golden age” will soon come to an end due to a possible slowdown.

In an opinion piece published on novekedes.hu, a financial site strongly linked to the MNB, Matolcsy argued that the golden age will last for decades and we will soon catch up with Western economies. “Why shouldn’t we question the words of a finance minister if those run counter to the nation’s desires and the plans of the government?,” the governor asked.

Industrial Production in Hungary, 2001-2019 (January-July) Producer Volume Index, same period last year equals 100 +3.7 +3.2 +6.9 +7.8 +6.8 +9.9 +7.9 0.0 -17.8 +10.6 +5.6 -1.8 +1.1 +7.7 +7.4

Source: KSH/MTVA Sajtóadatbank/MTI

the increase. The manufacture of transport equipment, representing the largest weight, grew significantly; at the same time, the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, as well food products, beverages and tobacco products grew, but at a rate below the industrial average.

The latter was a result of a favorable tendency in both domestic and export sales, KSH said. Within the manufacture of food products, decreases were recorded in two groups only: in processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables (17,1%), and in the manufacture of tobacco products (7.3%), which carries only a small weight in the overall figures.

As for geographical breakdown, industrial production grew in every region. The highest volume growth was observed in Western Transdanubia (21%); all others regions saw volume increases of between 3.1% and 16.6%.

Total new orders volume in the observed subsections of manufacturing rose by 11% compared to the July 2018 data. New domestic orders volume

increased by

14.7%,

new export orders grew by 10.3%. The volume of total stock of orders at the end of July was above the previous year’s level by 0.5% The performance of the Hungarian industry is way above that of the EU and especially of Germany, Takarékbank analyst Gergely Suppan commented on the data.

He reasoned the good performance was the result of the production of new automotive models, deploying new export capacities and also with strong domestic demand.

As for downside risks, the analyst mentioned the weakening European economies, the slowdown of the global

+0.9 +4.6 +3.6 +6.3

economy, including the Chinese market, and also uncertainties caused by Brexit.

However, all of these have already had a slowing effect on industrial performance, he said. As for the full year, Suppan expects an annual growth of 5.5-6%, following a 3.6% increase in 2018.

Inflation Down

In the meantime, consumer price inflation in August was getting a bit closer to the mid-term target of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) and came in at 3.1%, down from a 3.3% year-on-year increase in July.

The KSH reported that food prices were up by 5.6% in the last month of the summer, with seasonal food prices rising 13.7%. Pork prices rose 11.5%, the price of ADVERTISEMENT

flour was up 11.3%, and the price of bread gained 8.4%, while milk prices were 5.2% lower year-on-year. Prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco rose by 8.8% on average year-on-year, within which tobacco prices rose 12.8%. Consumers paid 2.8% more for services, within which rents increased by 10%. The price of motor fuels fell by 2.6% year-on-year in August.

The MNB’s measure of core inflation, excluding indirect tax effects,

was

3.2%

in August, level with the previous month.

The underperformance of the Hungarian currency hasn’t influenced consumer prices, says Péter Virovácz, head analyst at ING Bank. According to him, the latest CPI data justifies the monetary policy of the central bank, as it underlines the expectations of the MNB about inflation becoming gradually more moderate by the second half of the year. As inflationary trends do not indicate a need for any changes in monetary policy, the central bank now can focus on the decision of the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve, said Virovácz.

Inflation moving back closer to the target was not the result of a lower core inflation but due to a fall in oil prices, which reduced fuel prices as well, Gábor Regős of research institute Századvég pointed out.

He also thinks that the forint exchange rate and oil prices will have a visible effect on inflation in the remaining months of the year.

If the Hungarian currency remains weak in the longer run, the inflation rate might reach the top of the target set by the central bank.

Analysts at Takarékbank now forecast an annual inflation rate of 3.4%, following a 2.8% rate last year. K&H Bank head analyst Dávid Németh agrees on the level of annual average inflation, but says that inflation might reach 3.8% by the end of the year.

Numbers to Watch in the Coming Weeks The next two weeks will not see a very crowded macro calendar: the Central Statistical Office will publish employment and unemployment figures for the June-August period on September 27. A few days later, earnings for the January-July period will be released.

4|1

News

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Positive Indicators Continue in CEE Real Estate Markets The region remains a popular investment destination as investment flow volume into the CEE-6 (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) commercial real estate markets picked up in the second quarter of 2019, with the H1 volumes at EUR 5.5 billion just 3% down on the record breaking first half of 2018, according to Colliers International.

GARY J. MORRELL

Poland and the Czech Republic tend to be the markets of choice, followed by Hungary, although the yield gap between Hungary and the Czech Republic is narrowing as investors increasingly target Hungary.

A yield differential is expected to continue between the two near

Office Dominates

In terms of market sectors, office continues to dominate the CEE region, with an increase of 43% year-on-year as of the end of the first half year, according to Colliers. In the second quarter, industrial investment volumes increased by 26% while hotel deal flows rose by 320% in the same time period.

The weakness is in retail, in which investment volumes

fell by

69%,

Nordic Light Trio neighbors, according to Luke Dawson, head of CEE at Colliers. He sees the Prague market prime yield remaining at 4.25%, bringing the spread to 75 basis points. Across the region the most notable compression has been seen in the office and industrial markets, reflecting investor preference for these market sectors.

With regard to the place of origin of investors, Asian purchase flows have risen at the expense of CEE players, according to Colliers.

CEE cross-border purchases and domestic flows, although strong

in Hungary and the Czech Republic, are very weak in Poland.

In Hungary, JR AMC, a South Korean real estate investment trust, has purchased

the

14,000 sqm

Nordic Light Trio, marking the entry of South Korean investors into Hungary.

In the Czech Republic, the 80,000 sqm office component of the Waltrovka complex in Prague 5 was purchased by GLL Real Estate Partners and LB Asset Management, who acted for the South Korean Hanwha, for EUR 250 million from Penta.

year-on-year.

In the hotel sector the Hungarian, American owned investment managers Indotek has purchased the 230-room Art Nouveau Gellért Hotel overlooking the Danube in Budapest. In Prague, the Hotel Intercontinental was purchased by R2G for EUR 225 mln from J&T. “It is clear that there is a disbalance between supply and demand in almost all the markets in CEE and even more broadly across Europe,” concludes Luke Dawson, head of CEE capital markets at Colliers International.

“However, I believe that this lack of supply is not a negative factor overall, as it speaks firstly to the fact that existing holders are not looking to exit their positions in CEE. Secondly, it keeps our markets from overheating,” he adds.

“We are now more mature and diverse than during the last cycle and this restraint keeps us on a reasonable level of growth. I would expect 2019 volumes to come close to 2018 with total volumes between EUR 13 billion-13.5 billion. For 2020 I would expect the same with the sector breakdown continuing to favor office,” Dawson concludes.

Metro Properties Concludes CEE Sale-and-leaseback Deal Metro Properties, the real estate arm of Metro AG, has sold the real estate of 11 Cash & Carry stores in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in a sale-and-leaseback transaction.

GARY J. MORRELL

The portfolio has been acquired by FLE GmbH, Vienna, a subsidiary of the French LFPI Group, investing on behalf of an AIF regulated fund. The transaction was finalised in August with a total investment volume exceeding EUR 250 million.

Metro and Makro Cash & Carry will continue to operate all the wholesale locations on the basis of long-term lease contracts. The transaction has been described as the largest deal in Central Europe to date in 2019, and one of largest sale and leaseback transactions in Europe.

The portfolio consists of five Makro Cash & Carry stores in Poland (Warsaw, Wroclaw,

Krakow and Lublin), three Metro Cash & Carry properties in Budapest, and three Makro Cash & Carry shops in Prague. Metro Properties has retained the ownership of several adjacent plots in Poland and the Czech Republic in order to develop mixed-use projects.

“This transaction required facilitating a long-term partnership that goes beyond this initial transaction. We are proud to have played a part in bringing these two partners together,” he adds.

A sale-and-leaseback transaction can be seen as a win-win situation for both partners in a deal as it frees up finance for the tenant and vendor, who is able to

concentrate on its core business, while at the same time the purchaser acquires a property with a long-term tenant with property management already in place.

Several international investors who specialise in sale-and-leaseback deals have concluded deals in Hungary and CEE or are looking at the possibilities in the market.

Uniqueness

For Hungary, Metro Properties was advised

by Colliers Hungary, represented by Luke Dawson, head of CEE capital markets and Bence Vécsey, head of investment at Colliers International Hungary.

“With the uniqueness and size of these portfolios it was important for us to not only understand the real estate but, more importantly, the operating business of Metro,” comments Vécsey.

Metro outlet

1

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Control Premiums: How Much is Control Worth?

The majority of corporate acquisitions are acquisitions of majority interests.

In their latest M&A column, Les Nemethy and Sergey Glekov look at the issue of control in such circumstances.

With a mere 50% ownership plus one share, an acquiror can often exercise substantial or nearly total control over an acquired company. In widely held companies, sometimes control can be had with significantly less than 50% ownership. Each share that has this bundle of control rights attached to it is worth more than a share that does not.

This gives rise to what is known as a “control premium”.

Corporate control has been defined in “The Market For Corporate Control: The Scientific Evidence” by Michael C. Jensen and Richard S. Ruback as: “the rights to determine the management of corporate resources”. The following is a list of the more common prerogatives of ownership control of a business enterprise, as laid out in “Value a Business » by Shannon Pratt, Robert Reilly and Robert Schweihs: • Appoint management • Determine management compensation and perquisites • Set policy and change the course of business

News | 5

The Corporate Finance Column

Average and Median Control Premiums # of Deals

Premium

U.S. Average

57

63.3%

U.S. Median

57

28.5%

International Average

43

63.2%

International Median

43

29.1%

Europe Average

15

38.5%

Europe Median

15

31.9%

Source: Mergerstat Control Premium Study 2nd Quarter 2018. Such data also includes the value of synergies between acquirer and the target company.

• Acquire or liquidate assets • Select people with whom to do business and award contracts • Make acquisitions • Liquidate, dissolve, sell out, or recapitalize the company • Declare and pay dividends • Change the articles of incorporation or bylaws • Block any of the above actions The above rights are typically available to a controlling or interest only, or must be taken by a majority of shareholders.

Therefore, part of the purchase price paid by an acquiror most likely includes a payment for obtaining control, the control premium, defined as “an amount or a percentage by which the pro rata value of a controlling interest exceeds the pro rata value of a non-controlling interest in a business enterprise to reflect the power of control” (“Business Valuation Discounts and Premiums” by Shannon Pratt).

According to Mergerstat’s Control Premium Study from Q2 2018, there are a number of factors affecting

the magnitude of a given control premium, including: • The nature and magnitude of non-operating assets • The nature and magnitude of discretionary expenses • The perceived quality of existing management • The market evolution • The nature and magnitude of business opportunities which are not currently being exploited • The ability to integrate the acquiree into the acquiror’s business or distribution channels As a result of the aforementioned factors, control premiums can vary greatly. The chart blow provides statistics for Q2 2018 based on completed transactions, where the target company was publicly traded, and where at least 50.01% of a company was acquired.

Average control premiums in Europe in the second Quarter of 2018 are lower than in the United States and globally.

It should be noted that, when a control premium is payed, it is very difficult

to strip out the synergies between the acquiror and acquired company on the one hand and the control premium on the other hand. The above exhibit includes both.

Once control is obtained, increasing ownership further does not lead to additional benefits of control. For instance, if 50.01% already guarantees control, there are no reasons for an acquiror to pay a control premium for purchase of subsequent shares, in excess of 50.01%.

In some countries, there are statutory minority protection rights, triggered when a minority shareholder owns a significant minority of shares (usually a minimum of one quarter to one third of shares). But these minority rights do not typically offer the right to manage the company.

These rights are typically defensive in nature (e.g. protecting against dilution, exercising rights in bankruptcy, etc.)

Of course, it is always important to check applicable corporate laws and whether a company has a shareholders’ agreement – and if so, the details of such agreement – because such laws and shareholders’ agreement may confer special rights on a minority shareholder, such as rights of first refusal. To the extent that minority shareholders exercise significant powers (e.g. to veto certain decisions), these may diminish the control premium.

In conclusion, the control premium is proportional to the bundle of rights exercised by the controlling shareholder vis-à-vis the minority shareholder(s), and to the additional value that may be captured by exercising such control.

Les Nemethy is CEO of EuroPhoenix (www.europhoenix. com), a Central European corporate finance firm, author of Business Exit Planning (www. businessexitplanningbook.com) and a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary.

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Business

Building on a ‘Distinctive Combination’

Citi is a global bank; it’s hard to find a place where it doesn’t have a presence. But when David Livingstone, CEO for EMEA comes calling to Hungary, a relatively small market, he has two reasons to do so: the core banking business, here for almost 35 years, and one of just four service centers across the region.

Here are excerpts from a wide-ranging and exclusive interview he gave to the Budapest Business Journal.

ROBIN MARSHALL

“When I think about Hungary, I think about our core banking business, which will have been operating here

35 years

next year, as well our service center, which will have been here 15 years in 2020, and that’s a very good and distinctive

combination,” explains David Livingstone, who took up the EMEA CEO’s role in February, having previously been country manager for Australia and New Zealand.

“Budapest is one of our four big service centers in the EMEA region, which is significant. My ‘why now’ [for visiting] is that I have been in the role for six months, I have been travelling extensively, but it is a very interesting time as we look at economic outlooks and the interest rate outlooks in

different places in our region. We see places that are exhibiting economic growth, and have good economic conditions, so we can tilt our investment towards those places.”

Livingstone also makes the point that, in banking at least, size isn’t everything. “A country’s importance to Citi is not just about the scale of its GDP; it is about where clients are transacting, and where they are seeking out capabilities. You can’t just look at

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

a network and say the most important places are the biggest places.”

Bank Levy

When the Fidesz-led government returned to power in 2010 via a landslide victory, it was an enthusiastic user of so-called Robin Hood taxes to sure up holes in its budget, not least of which was the bank levy. Although it has been reduced, nine years later the tax is still in place. Is that a discouragement to Citi?

“Bank levies exist, to different degrees, around our region and the world, as do all elements of taxation. Against the bank levy, you have a corporate tax rate here in

advertise its capabilities to the rest of the Citi network.”

Interestingly, Livingstone, who is based in London (although, as he says with a laugh, he isn’t there that often at present) does not think Brexit will greatly diminish the importance of the U.K. capital, even if it loses its financial passporting rights once Brexit does happen. Indeed, he thinks it “will remain an incredibly vigorous, vibrant and global center”. Why? “Rule of law, the incredibly deep experience, not just in banking but in all the associated sectors which service banking, labor flexibility, and its unique

Hungary of

9%,

which is very competitive as a tool for attracting international businesses. I think you need to balance that against all other costs of doing business in a country. We are happy the levy has been reduced, but we see it as part of the fabric of doing business in the country.”

Brexit and CSC

I wonder if Brexit, when and if it happens, might have an impact on the Citi Service Center in Budapest, with the migration of jobs to it from the United Kingdom.

Livingstone makes it clear that the future of the CSC, which he says already has a “significant concentration of activities”, is much more dependent on its own success than any inheritance from elsewhere.

“Brexit will have very little to no impact on the decisions we have made historically or will continue to make about the real attractions of increasing our footprint here in Hungary,” the EMEA CEO insists.

“When I think about Hungary, I think about our core banking business, which will have been operating here 35 years next year, as well our service center, which will have been here 15 years in 2020, and that’s a very good and distinctive combination.”

“Those decisions have been made based on the benefits of the centralization of activities. Take our product control activities, which is where we manage the positions and the valuation of positions in our Markets business. Budapest is our global headquarters for that. So, it’s not just in the EMEA region. My previous role was in Australia, and some of our product control capabilities were done from Budapest.”

If not Brexit, then what might bring more roles to Budapest? “That is around the availability of talent, concentration of activities in centers of excellence and how can you add to that? We have built the base and have

2,000 employees

in our CSC here in Budapest, so it is now at the level of maturity where it can

“Brexit will have very little to no impact on the decisions we have made historically, or will continue to make about the real attractions of increasing our footprint here in Hungary.” time zone position. And then there’s access to talent, and not just British talent but global talent. Now, you could argue that there are other cities, not too far away, but if you put that whole package together, it is very hard to see another city replicating that. And it is also the scale.”

Attraction and Retention

Mention of talent leads inevitably to the worry of so many in business in Hungary today: the nationwide labor shortage. Is Livingstone concerned?

“I wouldn’t call it a concern, but we recognize that the characteristics in the environment that we find attractive also make it attractive to a number of global organizations, and those organizations that are building capabilities here continue to grow.”

What that does mean is that Citi has to work hard in a couple of areas, he says.

“One is making sure that people see the attraction of a career in Citi. One of the things that is much more present here in Budapest now, even perhaps than two years ago, is people moving from one specialist activity to another within Citi, which is really positive from a career mobility point of view. If you think about career development, employee retention, skill development, that is a real positive and, in fact, I think the management team here is doing an excellent job of making that conscious and promoting it.”

The second area, he says, is employers needing to engage more with school and university students, and universities themselves, “to make sure that they demystify their organizations, but also to communicate what are the skills that we need. Counter-intuitively, as the world digitizes and automates more, everyone says, ‘Ah, that must mean you need more people who code’.

There is part of that – you need people who are technically capable in IT – but you also need, particularly in financial services, people with more arts and humanities backgrounds, because you need to humanize the processes and the activities.”

2nd district

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Business | 7

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100 sqm – 5 rooms, donáti street

89 sqm – 3 rooms, Völgy street

Beautiful panorama over the Buda Hills, this very sunny apartment in good condition has sepa­ rate bedrooms, private gas heating and parking space. It is located in a quiet and green area.

Near Danube, this garden and street facing apartment, that needs renovation, has sepa­ rate bedrooms with balcony. It is situated with­ in a nice, Bauhaus style building with elevator.

This luxury apartment has been renovated in 2019 by an interior designer. The property is situated within a completely renovated, 5 apart­ ments classical building.

69.900.000 HUF

90.000.000 HUF

97.900.000 HUF

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99 sqm – 4 rooms, csalán street

156 sqm – 6 rooms, országút area

270 sqm – 8 rooms, HűVösVölgy

Close to the Pasaréti Square, this sunny apart­ ment in good condition has large spaces and perfect layout. It is situated within building with new insulation. Garage belongs to the property.

Near Danube, this high floor apartment has spa­ cious rooms, 2 bathrooms, balcony and air con­ ditioning system. It is situated within a period building with elevator.

In a green area, a few minutes from the centre, this terraced house has unique atmosphere, big garden and garage. This newly refurbished pro­ perty benefits of large spaces and huge windows.

110.000.000 HUF

119.900.000 HUF

190.000.000 HUF

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33 sqm – 1 room, római-part

88 sqm – 3 rooms, csillagHegy

110 sqm – 3 rooms, római-part

In a luxury subdivision with swimming pool and wellness area, this renovated, sunny and quiet apartment benefits of a balcony and a parking space in the courtyard.

In a quiet side street, both sides of a new built semi­detached house for sale. Each property has terrace, 100 sqm of garden and parking space. Handover in February 2020.

Panoramic view over the Danube, this complete­ ly renovated apartment has separate rooms, a covered and an open terrace and it situated in a luxury subdivision with swimming pool.

42.900.000 HUF

54.9-61.500.000 HUF

119.000.000 HUF

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52 sqm – 2 rooms, szinyei merse street

80 sqm – 2 rooms, dembinszky street

80 sqm – 3 rooms, reJtő Jenő street

Panorama over the city, this completely renova­ ted, sunny, high floor apartment is situated within a new building with sauna, fitness room, recep­ tion and nice common garden.

This very bright, street facing apartment in good condition has separate rooms and spa­ cious dining room. It is situated in a nice period building, a few minute walk from the City Park.

Next to the Magyar Theatre, this completely renovated, street facing, high floor apartment benefits of a fully fitted kitchen, separate rooms and air conditioning system.

54.900.000 HUF

59.900.000 HUF

64.900.000 HUF

+36.1.351.0446

11th district

+36.1.351.0446

11th district

+36.1.351.0446

11th district

80 sqm – 3 rooms, eszék street

101 sqm – 3 rooms, lágymányosi str.

277 sqm – 8 rooms, péterHegyi slope

This completely renovated, spacious, garden facing apartment has two balconies. It is loca­ ted in the heart of the district, in a quiet and green street.

This well divided, bright, cosy and spacious apartment, that needs renovation, benefits of 5 separate rooms. It is situated within a building with elevator and common garden.

Panorama over the Buda Hills, this four sto­ rey, eco­friendly house benefits of wellness and fitness areas, swimming pool, garage and elevator.

72.900.000 HUF

74.900.000 HUF

419.000.000 HUF

+36.70.511.4923

13th district

+36.70.337.2319

13th district

+36.70.337.2319

13th district

46 sqm – 2 rooms, Visegrádi street

54 sqm – 1 room, Hegedűs gyUla street

83 sqm – 3 rooms, Hollán ernő street

In the heart of the district, near WestEnd City Center shopping mall and Nyugati railway sta­ tion, this apartment benefits of 2 separate rooms. Ideal for investment.

Next to Vígszínház, this very bright, high floor, street facing apartment has 1 room at the mo­ ment but it can be converted to a 2 room apart­ ment easily. In a renovated building with elevator.

Near Jászai Mari Square, this very bright, high floor apartment facing over a pedestrian street, benefits of 2 separate rooms but it can be con­ verted to a 4 room property as well.

34.900.000 HUF

38.900.000 HUF

69.900.000 HUF

+36.70.414.7759

+36.70.414.7759

+36.70.414.7759

grUppo t.F.m. kFt. 1068 bUdapest, király U. 102. each agency independently owned and operated. • these offers are valid, till the apartments are sold. • these information do not constitute a contractual element.

8|2

Business

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

PRESENTED CONTENT

SAP Hungary: Leveraging the Future Today For years, artificial intelligence has been a staple of the sci-fi world, albeit one placed firmly in the future. But as SAP Hungary’s managing director Szabolcs Pintér tells the Budapest Business Journal, it is now very much part of the present.

ROBIN MARSHALL

Szabolcs Pintér

“AI first appeared in the 1950s and ’60s.

Indeed, when I was studying in university we had some lessons in the field. In the past 60 years it has developed quite fast, but if you are talking about analyzing data from pictures or voice recognition, for example, there was not the technology behind it to do that analysis. The technology has now appeared; it is now down to us how we leverage it.”

More of AI later. Pintér, who was appointed to his current role in January of this year, having joined SAP Hungary Kft.

in

2007

as a presales expert. He qualified in engineering from the Budapest University of Technology’s faculty of informatics, and a couple of years later added a degree in economics from Corvinus University of Budapest.

He has clearly risen through the management ranks since that first role through different positions (for the past five years he was responsible for leading the transportation industry), but does his background help?

“I think the credibility is better than for someone who is not qualified in IT, so, from this perspective, for sure,” the 35-yearold says. “I can easily talk to CIOs and other C-level executives because at the management level we understand each other from a strategic point of view. Overall, I would say it is more beneficial than not.”

He came in with a desire to build on areas where SAP Hungary was already successful, but also to bring in new developments. “I wanted to change the environment of the company here a little bit and try to add some innovations. For example, if we have good ideas coming from our employees, our ecosystem, it may be worth trying them. I also changed some of the structures as for the past ten years they have been the same.”

New Market

One new market area has been so-called experience management solutions. This was made possible by SAP’s USD 8 bln acquisition, completed in January, of Qualtrics, a global pioneer in experience management software. Combining experience data with operational data offers businesses the means to deliver exceptional customer, employee, product and brand experiences.

Pintér sees huge potential in the market.

He cites a recent survey in which 80% of CEOs rated the customer experience of their customers with their products as “excellent”.

When those same customers were asked about their customer experience,

only

8%

ranked it excellent. The Qualtrics software, added to SAP’s own, provides the type of holistic view that can bridge that gap.

The MD gives the example of a passenger sitting in seat 6C on a long distance flight, whose air vent does not work. That passenger complains about it in a post on social media. Many other passengers might sit in that same seat, and receive the same poor customer experience before the air vent is fixed.

But if social media is monitored, and the complaint spotted early, it can be fixed before real harm is done. The system could even be used to offer the passenger who complained a discount on their next flight.

“This [customer] feedback, if it can be analyzed together with operational data, can produce real results,” Pintér believes.

Qualtrics has closed its first deal since the acquisition in the Hungarian market, which the MD sees as having “enormous significance” for the future. “It usually takes more time to get the first sale; that we have made it [already] this year means for me that this is going to be a popular solution for customers.”

SAP’s own enterprise resource planning solution is entering the next phase of its life with the totally new generation of S/4HANA, offering AI capabilities. With support for the legacy ERP solutions due to be discontinued in 2025, and with many companies in any case upgrading their IT systems, Pintér expects the Hungarian operation to grow robustly this year.

Revenue to Triple

Familiarity with cloud-based systems clearly helps. In the five year period from 2018 to 2023, SAP is expecting global revenue from the cloud to triple. In Hungary, the market for domestic cloud services grew by 38% in 2018 to HUF 77 billion, according to market researcher IDC, with double-digit growth forecast this year.

“We expect above the market growth. But in the public sector we need to evangelize the benefits of the cloud more to get over security fears. There is big growth potential in publicly-owned companies, but also sectors like retail and banking,” he says.

Magyar Posta, the Hungarian postal service, has been using SAP’s Ariba e-procurement solution software. The MD hopes this will make it a cloud-based reference point for other public sector entities, and encourage greater take up.

Which brings us back to artificial intelligence. SAP Hungary recently joined the AI Coalition, which now numbers more than

190

companies

and organizations aiming to help the technology to spread and develop.

“We are working to increase the competitive advantage of Hungary in terms of AI,” he explains. Whether talking about machine learning, image or shape recognition software, or robotic

process automation, all can help Hungary overcome its labor shortage.

“One pilot project SAP is working on uses the HANA software and image recognition to examine railway powerlines and look for possible signs of wear or damage, meaning predictive maintenance can be carried out, rather than waiting for an actual power outage. Similarly, vehicle mounted cameras are being tested to look for road surface damage or other hazards.

This is just another example of what could potentially be new territory for us, where we can add value with HANA together with AI to offer real results for customers to look at,” Pintér says.

SAP Hungary Kft. The business software provider says it generated revenues of HUF 36.6 billion last year, nearly HUF 2 bln more than the year before. Recently, it has close large-scale projects in the financial, commercial, and higher education sectors: 15 Hungarian higher education institutions already have an integrated IT system based on SAP technology for dealing with institution management, financial management, controlling and HR processes, it says. More than 2,000 domestic customers uses SAP solutions on a daily basis, with the number of new orders growing fastest in the SME sector. SAP Hungary employs nearly 1,200 people, many of whom perform international tasks, and is currently looking to fill 20 new posit

2

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Business | 9

Racing to a Greener Automotive Future?

The Italian Chamber of Commerce for Hungary, in collaboration with Orange1 Holding, has organized what it calls an exclusive focus lunch with the theme of “The Green Future of Automotive”.

BBJ STAFF

Held on September 6, at the New York Café in Budapest, the lunch saw the participation of 27 representatives of the automotive sector, alongside representatives from Hungarian associations working in the sector, the government and the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, as well as CEOs and managers of companies working in industrial automation, e-motion and green energy power sector.

The chamber said the lunch was intended to provide an opportunity to get to know some of the main trends that will have an impact on the automotive sector and how large organizations can benefit from those trends; technological and investment opportunities were also discussed, with a special attention paid to the green future of the sector.

Companies and associations represented included ABB, Audi, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the Hungarian Tire Association, the ZalaZone ADVERTISEMENT

autonomous test track and a number of SMEs and non-profits.

“The aim was to support the top management in the challenges of green developments in the automotive sector in a reserved and concrete way,” said chamber president Francesco Maria Mari.

The event was a collaboration with Orange1 Holding, an Italian manufacturer of single-phase and three-phase asynchronous electric motors, foundry and turning parts that has been present in Hungary for a number of years, and sponsored

by Pirelli and CIB Bank.

The program was moderated by Budapest Business Journal editor-inchief Robin Marshall.

Paddock Networker

The focus lunch was followed on September 7 (Saturday) by an Orange1 Holding and Italian chamber “Automotive Qualified Networking” day at the Orange1 Village Paddock at the Hungaroring Formula 1 race track at Mogyoród, 30 km northeast of Budapest.

This event was an exclusive opportunity to make network in an informal way on topics related to the main challenges and future of the automotive sector in terms of opportunities and employment.

The networker was led by Armando Donazzan, president of Orange1 Holding and Italian chamber president Mari, and attended by many other representatives of the automotive, engineering and technology sectors and other chambers of commerce in Hungary.

Orange1 had a championship-leading team entered in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, with the networking

event built around that, and included opportunities for a Paddock Tour and Pit Lane Walk, as well as a buffet at Orange1 hospitality area, which also offered exceptional race track view.

The day proved successful for Orange1, whose #563 Orange1 FFF Racing Lamborghini drivers Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli emerged victorious at the top of the overall standings.

10 | 2

Business

WHO’S NEWS

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Do you know someone on the move? /// Send information to news@bbj.hu

InterContinental Budapest Gets General Manager

The InterContinental Budapest has been open for almost 40 years. The hotel has 402 rooms and the largest naturally lit conference room in the city, as well as additional breakout rooms located on the same floor.

After almost seven years in Hungary, Claus Geisselmann has taken on the position of general manager of the Regent Berlin Hotel, with Dutch national Peter Marketing Communications Pottinga, an avid traveler and tourism Director Named at NNG industry expert, taking his place at the Navigation and infotainment systems helm of the InterContinental Budapest. company NNG has announced the With more appointment of Orsolya Ludvig as than 20 years marketing communications director, of experience effective from September. in the Ludvig’s last position was head of InterContinental communications and external affairs at the Hotels Group Kecskemét plant of Mercedes-Benz. Before across many that, she worked as head of brand, marketing, countries and and communication at EY Hungary. numerous Between 2011 departments, Peter Pottinga Pottinga is the and 2015, she acted as head of ideal new leader communications of the iconic at Siemens property in the heart of the Hungarian Hungary. capital, according to IHG. “The owners Pottinga has held senior manager and expect me general manager positions from the to elevate United States, through Europe to China, the external and he and his family have spent moe Orsolya Ludvig communications than three years in neighboring Bratislava. of the business to “I look forward to being a part of the a new level, and dynamic tourism growth in Hungary and to put it on a strategic footing,” Ludvig says. am excited to experience the versatile “I am looking forward to great, challenging capital of the ‘Pearl of the Danube’,” said tasks, and I am actively preparing to Pottinga when he joined the team of the contribute to NNG’s future successes, InterContinental Budapest in August.

giving my best as director of marketing communications alongside my team.”

New President at Helm of Direct Selling Association The Hungarian Direct Selling Association has announced the election of its president and board, with László Endrédi taking over as head during the current presidential cycle, which lasts until 2021.

DSA Hungary says that during László Endrédi the new cycle, it will focus especially on the ethical operation of its members, consumer protection, cleaning up the market, and strengthening public trust towards the industry and its members.

“Direct selling is a dynamically developing branch not only globally, but domestically as well: currently some half million people are involved in it as customers and product dealers,” says Endrédi, who is also CEO of nutrition company NeoLife International.

“DSA, cooperating with the authorities, stands guard over the ethical operation of its member companies, creating the conditions for secure purchases by consumers.”

The other elected members of the board are Dalma Kiss-László, marketing and PR director of Amway Hungária; László Gaál, network development director of

Flavon Group; and László Dudás, CEO of Zepter Hungary. Established in 1993, DSA Hungary is a member of both the European Direct Selling Association and the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations.

András Becsei Elected Chairman of Banking Association The board of the Hungarian Banking Association (Magyar Bankszövetség) unanimously elected deputy chairman András Becsei to head the professional body at an extraordinary meeting.

Becsei, CEO of leading lender OTP’s mortgage and home savings banks, is replacing Mihály Patai, who was appointed a deputy governor of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) in the spring.

The association’s board elected Radován Jelasity, chairman-CEO András Becsei of Erste Bank Hungary, to fill Becsei’s former position as deputy chairman.

Two new members were also elected to the board: Éva Búza, CEO of credit guarantor Garantiqa, and József Vida, chairman-CEO of Takarékbank, the central bank for Hungary’s integrated network of savings cooperatives.

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2

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Business | 11

László Rajk: Non-conformist Architect and his Legacy, at Market Prices Fans of architectural controversy love Lehel market hall. Just three stops northbound on Metro 3 from Deák tér, it has been variously described as “a hideous boat-like postmodern structure” (Lonely Planet) and a “weirdo architectural gem” (CatchBudapest).

KESTER EDDY

One thing all agree on is that it is “authentic”, filled with regular Hungarians buying from regular tradesfolk at regular prices.

Such controversy and contradiction, underpinned by common understanding, is natural once you know the man behind the building. László Rajk Jr., who died on September 11, was variously, an architect, academic, stage designer and anti-communist dissident.

ADVERTISEMENT

His father, László Rajk Sr., was both a communist minister of the interior (responsible for the police) and later declared an “enemy of the people”, given a show-trial and executed in 1949.

Somewhere in the family mix there was an uncle who was a leading Nazi.

Rajk Jr. recovered from a fatherless childhood, partly lived in enforced exile in Romania, to study architecture. But given his pedigree, enhanced by a fiercely protective mother, thoughts on politics and human rights constantly vied with beam-strength formulae in his active mind.

Things came to a head at a 1969 concert by Kex, a progressive rock band that irked the authorities. Held in what was then the “Youth Park”, today’s Várkert Bazár, the police were just itching for trouble.

“There was a big police attack. László and others were arrested and prosecuted on charges of [forming an] ‘armed group against authorities’,” Rajk’s widow, Judit, recalls. It was a pivotal moment. “From that time, he started his fight,” she says.

1970s Hungary might have been tentatively sanctioning the odd rock concert, but nobody yet talked of “goulash communism”. Illicit political activity meant telephone bugging, police harassment, job restrictions. Rajk established an illegal publishing house and ran a dissident samizdat bookshop selling the likes of Orwell’s “Animal Farm” from

his own flat. That “entrepreneurial” operation ended in a police raid early in 1983.

Regime Doubt

But the regime itself was beginning to have self-doubts. By 1989, the events of 1956 were no longer a counter-revolution, but a patriotic revolution. On June 16 that year, a huge crowd gathered on Heroes’ Square in Budapest at a ceremony to honor Imre Nagy, prime minister of the revolutionary 1956 government, and his comrades who were executed after the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

The extensive, somber decorations for the event were designed by Rajk.

In the spring of 1990, barely seven years since the police ransacked his book shop, the former dissident was elected to parliament as a member of the liberal Free Democrats (SzDSz), then the largest party in opposition. Rajk remained an MP until 1996, when he refocused on his professional and teaching careers.

Among his most famous achievements is the set for “Son of Saul”, the harrowing, Oscar-winning 2016 film that viewed the Holocaust through the eyes of the Sonderkommando, those Jews forced to herd their kin into the gas chambers before shoveling the lifeless remains into the crematoria at the Nazi death camps.

In the spring of 2016, your correspondent asked Rajk what he had learned from his work on the film.

László Rajk. Photo by Neil Bates, reproduced under Wikipedia Creative Commons license.

“I think one very important thing is that, seemingly, dictatorships are like clockwork.

They are rigid, there is law and order, [but] it turns out that dictatorships are the most corrupted phenomena,” he said.

Yet his most proud design was the Lehel Market Hall.

Sadly, it seem the market website has not deemed its creator’s passing as worthy of note, interest focusing on “the richness of vitamins in plums” and “attractive prices” of the goods on sale.

But perhaps, after a lifetime of design while fighting for human rights, László Rajk would take that as evidence of “job well done”.

The Bottom Line is a monthly column written

by Kester Eddy, a long-standing and well respected Budapest-based business and economic journalist, who has written for the Financial Times and many regional publications. The opinions expressed in the column are not necessarily those of the Budapest Business Journal. To comment on this column, or on anything else in the BBJ, email the editor at robin.marshall@bbj.hu

3

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Special Report Green Business

Building a Better, Greener Future for Budapest

The Budapest Business Journal’s Real Estate editor, Gary J. Morrell, speaks with Éva Beleznay, an architect, planner and senior sustainability consultant at the Hungary Green Building Council (HuGBC) about the sustainable development challenges that Budapest faces.

BBJ: What influence have accreditation bodies like LEED/BREEAM and WELL had on the design, sustainability and efficiency of office buildings in Hungary and across Central Europe? Éva Beleznay: The major international certification systems introduced new approaches in office buildings design.

Daylighting and the role of natural light, glare control, acoustic performance, comfort levels evaluation and design provide a healthier environment for workers, which are proven by researchers to increase work efficiency and reduce health problems. WELL was especially developed to focus primarily on the people by supporting human health and well-being issues. As for the technical features of office buildings, metering and sub-metering of the building’s energy and water use helps facility managers to monitor and correct problems.

Commissioning of building services and their seasonal re-evaluation and adjustments, if done properly, highly increases building efficiency.

BBJ: Is sustainability now the norm in office, retail, hotels, public buildings and sports stadia developments?

EB: LEED or BREEAM green building certification in the newly built office market has become a norm. The more

changes in direction and well-furnished street design have a positive correlation with walking and thereby lower GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions. Accessibility to jobs, housing, services and shopping by a variety of transport modes – walking, bicycle, public transport, cars – increases the efficient use of cities by people.

Éva Beleznay than 500,000 sqm of office space under development all targets LEED or BREEAM. WELL certification is less widespread, but on the rise, along with the other certifications. In the existing building market, the number of certifications has increased significantly, mostly in BREEAM “In-Use” schemes. According to Colliers International research, 15% of the Budapest office stock is green certified.

Certifications are also gaining ground and increasing in the industrial and retail sectors, as well as in the Hungarian national government’s public building projects.

BBJ: How could the look of Budapest and urban development be improved from a development perspective?

EB: There are quite a number of urban development opportunities in Budapest for developers and investors. The so called transition zone surrounding the center city holds an immense under-used and brownfield area that can be developed into urban spaces. According to the City of Budapest Brownfield Register, nearly 3,500 plots belong to the brownfield category, with a total area of 2,945 hectares.

Other opportunities lie in the sub-center system, which is highly emphasized in the city’s strategic documents. The intermodal areas, where people change transport modes (such as from cars to public transport) provide a great opportunity for retail and service projects by private developers, complementing the infrastructure and transport investments of the public sector (involving the Budapest authority, district authorities, national railroad company, and Budapest Transport Company).

As for a horizontal theme, the “Smart Budapest – Smart City Framework” was

adopted by the city assembly in May 2019 to call attention to the priority areas of innovative, smart ways of urban living and development.

BBJ: How can office, hotel and infrastructural development progress while preserving the historic feel of the center of Budapest?

EB: The regeneration of the historic center area of Budapest is an ongoing process, with lots of successful projects, but still more to complete. The energyefficient retro-fitting of old buildings, while preserving the historic character, is a great challenge. There are still a number of empty lots in the historic city center area. The Budapest Regulation Plan sets the FAR [floor area ratio] and other density and infrastructure requirements as well as building heights. Local regulation plans and ordinances provide further detailing for real estate in different districts. The districts’ “Decrees on the Protection of Townscape” further develops standards for protected areas and buildings, as well as restrictions on public space advertisements.

BBJ: How can the transport infrastructure be improved?

EB: According to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), four key metrics define sustainable urban form: density; land-use mix; connectivity; and accessibility. By achieving the first two, we can reduce transport needs. No motorized transport is the best: it reduces pollution and saves on the time we spend by travelling in addition to a number of other benefits like reduced infrastructure material use, people’s health etc.

Connectivity refers to street density and design. Smaller blocks that allow frequent

BBJ: How should the city and national governments promote and facilitate the sustainable development of the city?

EB: On one hand, the legal framework should clearly promote carbon reduction, and facilitate investments that are less burdensome on the environment. On the other hand, incentive systems should help innovative, climate-friendly developments and also help innovative companies move up the value chain of the construction industry, in order to equalize costs and therefore promote market progress.

To meet climate change targets, the rate of building energy renovation needs to more than double. Some 40% of Europe’s carbon emissions come from its buildings, out of which 97% are inefficient. The World Green Business Council’s Europe Regional Network calls attention to the need for green mortgages. The National Bank of Hungary (MNB, the central bank of Hungary) has started a green program to facilitate the development of risk management and business practices that support environmental sustainability.

The MNB has joined the Advisory Council of the Energy Efficient Mortgages Pilot Scheme.

BBJ: What city could be a model for the future of Budapest?

EB: My favorite city is Barcelona, where the urban policy has very wisely been conducted over the past decades. After the Franco regime, Barcelona was a poor and run-down city with a shortage of public resources: the national government favored Madrid. The low-budget public space program in the 1980s started the transformation of the city, connecting segregated areas, improving livability and initiating private investments.

The next decision, to host the 1992 Olympic Games was on one hand to bring international attention to Barcelona, but even more importantly to use the Games for urban regeneration and infrastructure projects. like opening kilometers of sandy beach to the residents. Though its systematic infrastructure projects – port refurbishment, high-speed train, and today’s 22@Barcelona – the city offers a framework for investments and thus prevents suburbanization by creating an opportunity. And finally, the last years represented smart city projects and engagement of local residents and businesses as a forward-looking urban policy.

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Business ///briefs Green

Atenor 1st to Design Buildings According to Access4You Certification

Atenor is the first property developer to design its buildings according to the criteria of the accessibility certification and evaluation system created by Access4You, the developer has told the Budapest Business Journal.

Access4You aims to make buildings accessible for people with disabilities, auditing premises from the viewpoint of people with special needs, proposing improvements, and providing a European certification for qualifying buildings.

Atenor is the first developer to design projects together with rehabilitation engineers supported by Access4You, so that the buildings and their surroundings will be free of obstacles and offer solutions for access that make everyday life easier for people with special needs, says the press release.

“To obtain the highest available qualification, the “Gold Grade Accessible Site”, we hired Access4You for advisory services during the design process,” says Zoltán Borbély, country director of Atenor Hungary. “From the beginning, we consider it our task to take ADVERTISEMENT

responsibility for the environment, so we create sustainable buildings receiving “Excellent” certification, which is the highest qualification in BREEAM. We were the first green office building developer in Hungary and we have been working on synchronizing our projects with the ecological requirements since.”

Borbély adds: “Beside environmental protection, we put another, very crucial factor in the focus of our developments: social responsibility. That is why we decided that we are going to be the first developer, not only nationally but globally, to design all of its buildings according to the requirements of the evaluation system.”

Some 2/3 of Hungarians Want Better Working Environment

About two-thirds of people in Hungary would applaud improvements in their working environment, according to a survey conducted in Hungary by Skanska and Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, with most office users wishing for a green garden and a gym in the vicinity of their workplace.

Only 23% of respondents said they are completely satisfied with their working

3 environment and nearly two-thirds would not mind a change. Almost 35% said they have never seen an office building they would describe as ideal, while only 5% said the place they currently work at fits this description.

In terms of community spaces, most people said they would like to have an external or inner courtyard to get fresh air (75%), a cafeteria with a good variety on offer (63%), and a quiet room for a bit of relaxation

Special Report | 13 (47%), as well as a gym for working out (40%).

“Based on our experience, there is an evergrowing need not only for safe, but also for healthy and comfortable offices on the Hungarian market,” notes Marcin Łapiński, managing director of Skanska Hungary.

“The output of this survey confirms that employees value workplaces that support their wellbeing, tending to harmonize their work and private life.”

GreenGo, Parkl Bring new EV Chargers to District VII Electric vehicle (EV) owners can find the prerequisites for this is to have chargers, not just e-cars, available six new chargers to power up their for our clients all the time.” vehicles in District VII, thanks to a cooperation between e-car sharing “For us it is important to provide user-friendly services with the new company GreenGo and smart chargers, so one can always check if a parking specialist firm Parkl. given charger is free through the Parkl District VII residents can use app,” says Zsolt Somogyi, CEO of Parkl. the chargers free of charge with Erzsébet cards. In the introductory period, those who register with either GreenGo’s or Parkl’s system may also use the chargers freely.

“Residents of Budapest have experienced in the past few years that GreenGo’s car sharing service works reliably and there was enough demand from users to expand our fleet sevenfold,” says GreenGo CEO Bálint Michaletzky.

“This year, we’re concentrating on One of the e-chargers at downtown making car sharing become a habit, and to integrate it into the everyday Madách tér, close to the offices life of Budapest commuters. One of of the Budapest Business Journal.

14 | 3

Special Report

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Market Talk: Sustainability Issues in Office Development What drives sustainability issues in Budapestʼs office developments? Is “being green” really a pre-requisite, rather than a marketing plus point? The Budapest Business Journal asked a number of the principal players to assess the market.

GARY J. MORRELL

Sustainability accreditations have a determinative influence on the whole interior and exterior design of our projects. That is one key factor why Atenor is focusing on large scale campus style developments, as our mission goes beyond creating office areas; we would like to play a significant role in establishing new green environments around our buildings as well. Therefore, we pay attention to the interior green areas (terraces, gardens, atriums) and exteriors (parks and green passages).

and sustainable solutions have become basic norms and thus it is a necessity for concluding a successful lease or investment deals.

Atenor developments are not directed by market pressures, but by social and economic responsibility. As from the beginning, we still believe that this will provide added value, so we are continuing our strategy of building the most modern, sustainable and highest quality spaces.

Accessibility is crucial and therefore we prefer locations with metro and/or tram connections.

On the other hand, spaciousness is another very important factor for us, as our mission is to enrich the urban landscape with word-class, sustainable buildings in a pleasant, green and livable environment.

Nikolett Püschl Leasing and development director Atenor Hungary

disabled accessibility and many other features into the plans. The interesting part was to incorporate sustainable methodologies during construction, such as special waste management, building materials and establishing sustainable working condition for the construction workers.

As sustainability has become a standard feature of a class “A” office building, the related costs are

only marginally directly related to sustainability features. For CPI, sustainability has become a vital issue as we have entered into the bond market and this is an important KPI for our bond investors.

In today’s tight labor supply situation, quality interior features have become more important to be able to lease a commercial property. That is why we have to put more influence on the interior design process and to create a “home feel” environment. At CPI, both PM and FM are internally managed and, for these, sustainability is one of the key focus points of the operation.

With regard to locational issues, when sourcing a development site nothing has changed in the past 50 years. A central location and good accessibility have always been the key selection criteria.

Mátyás Gereben Country manager CPI Hungary

Nikolett Püschl Sustainability is the present and future of the office market as 100% of the newly constructed buildings have green certification, and most of the existing properties are aiming to achieve it [retrospectively]. So, green

The design process already takes into consideration the requirements of green accreditation and, thus, we have already incorporated many features such as bicycle racks, shower facilities, rain water collection systems,

Mátyás Gereben

Sustainability certifications require more efficient and innovative building systems, rainwater harvesting, efficient glazing and shading, certified materials, extensive green areas, and amenities like cycle storages and electric car chargers.

integrated process. Integration of fit-out design depends on the nature of the building (built-to-suit or core and shell), and the schedule of the different tenants. Some standard elements of the fit-outs have to be defined during base building design.

Edina Hornok Head of sustainability consultancy DVM group

Edina Hornok Restaurants in these buildings have to provide healthy food for the building users.

Sustainability is now a basic norm in order to successfully lease office buildings. Developments without sustainable solutions are not competitive at the market, as the tenants always consider this issue when they move into a new building.

Applying for certification adds no significant increase on the development cost, only 1-1.5%. As tenants’ demands grow higher, the buildings have to comply with higher standards, even without certification. New developments have to comply with increasingly strict European regulations as well.

Sustainability accreditation for investor acquisitions is an important, even decisive factor. Investors usually have a policy regarding this issue which they apply evenly across countries. They also have to ensure that their building is profitable, and attractive to tenants who demand sustainability.

External and internal parts of the base building are designed as part of an

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The satisfaction of Immofinanz’ tenants is an essential factor for achieving and maintaining high occupancy levels and strong tenant loyalty. This, in turn, is the guarantee for efficient property management. Tenant loyalty through high customer satisfaction and the acquisition of new tenants, therefore represents a strategic focus of our activities.

Our office buildings are generally certified according to BREEAM and

Viktor Nagy

LEED certifications. It defines the highest standards for sustainable design and has become the de facto benchmark for describing the environmental impact of a building.

We have a number of ongoing initiatives, for example regular energy audits for our standing portfolios. Our goal is to continuously reduce resource consumption, while maintaining or improving the quality of building use through energy savings measures. This will help to realize energy savings and reduce the environmental impact and risks.

Immofinanz is working to meet the rising demand of tenants for sustainable mobility offerings. Activities include cooperation with car sharing providers and the installation of e-charging stations and weatherproof bicycle parking areas.

Most of our offices in Budapest are centrally located within easy reach, they have a garage and are easily accessible by public transport. Moreover, for bicycles, we have set up storage facilities and showers.

In addition, all our office buildings have e-chargers to support electro mobility, which is an important trend for our future.

Viktor Nagy Country manager operations Immofinanz Hungary

The WELL standard is becoming the leading tool in creating an advanced healthy environment in office buildings.

Currently, 3,782 projects in 58 countries are applying for accreditation. Creating healthy spaces results in a win-win situation between investors, real estate owners and tenants.

WELL complements the green building certifications (BREEAM and LEED), as it is focusing on human health and well-being in building spaces. Real estate markets are facing the increasing expectations of tenants and the global problem of retaining talents.

A WELL-certified space provides clean and healthy fresh air, natural light and proper and convenient spaces for the various types of activities in terms of furniture,

Emese Kovács noise, thermal comfort and movement. It encourages the build-up of a healthier lifestyle and supports stress release.

Offices are becoming closer to nature with community gardens, a view of nature or biophilic design. According to recent surveys, sufficient clean and fresh air and less noise in the office are at the top of the employer demand list.

Community plays a huge role in our everyday life and a supportive, stressfree office environment is what most of our staff are dreaming of.

With WELL v2, the system is designed to grow in specificity and specialty over time, adapting to accommodate diverse space types and geographies and to respond to new evidence and ever-evolving public health concerns.

Emese Kovács Partner & WELL appraiser MN6 Energy Agency

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SECTOR OVERVIEWS DETAILING: ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT • FINANCE • HOTEL • INDUSTRIAL • INTERIOR FIT-OUT • INVESTMENT • OFFICE • RETAIL • SUSTAINABILITY

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INSIDE VIEW

Liberty: Birth of a NextGeneration Office Building Office buildings are popping up like mushrooms in Hungary’s capital, with cutting-edge technologies vying against one another to please companies and employees. However, Liberty Office Building, the latest project from WING, a developer acknowledged for its reliability and high-quality solutions, is outstanding even in the Budapest market. Those who designed the office building in District IX observed the days of an average employee: from brainstorming sessions, to tasks demanding concentration, to relaxing after work, or environmentally-conscious commuting. This is how the design of one of the most human-centered office buildings in recent years was developed, creating a space where employees will have great liberty to choose areas for working and relaxing.

Locational Issues Central to a Sustainable City Location is a central element of sustainability accreditation, as tenants and staff require office developments with direct public transport access that are integrated into the urban infrastructure. City authorities, meanwhile, are looking to attract developments that improve the economic environment, the provision of amenities and the look and feel of their districts.

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GARY J. MORRELL

The developer made no secret of wanting to meet every possible need. For example, the two-story high greenhouse provides a feeling of being close to nature, the inner green courtyard with fountains, as well as a restaurant, a café and shops on the ground floor make this office building extraordinary.

In the inner courtyard, employees can enjoy the experience of freedom and relaxation surrounded by plants.

Committed to fully meeting the demands of the 21st century and focusing on the wellness experience, developer WING designed a rooftop running track and a street ball court for those who want to exercise, while the panoramic Skybar will be the ideal place for recharging, where everybody can let off steam after a hard day.

In the underground garage of the office building (with 42,000 square meters of rentable area), 280 bicycle racks with changing room and shower connection, 50 electric car chargers, as well as e-motorcycle and e-scooter chargers, will be available in addition to parking places, of course.

Thanks to the large-scale reconstruction program in the neighborhood, the profile of the location is significantly increasing and is becoming highly popular among both employers and developers/investors.

Even listing all the planned and ongoing projects takes a long time:

Népliget will be renewed in the coming years with outdoor sports facilities, a running track, restaurants, cafés, cultural sites and a conference center, among other things. The new Transport Museum and the Opera House Workshop are now under construction on the edge of Népliget. These giant investments are major milestones in developing a neighborhood with the creation of a high-quality urban atmosphere.

When the reconstruction of the M3 metro line is completed, it will ensure a comfortable and modern public transport experience. Also, tram No. 1 stops outside the building, and a bus terminal and railway station offer further transport alternatives.

Following its delivery in 2021, Liberty Office Building will redefine the concepts of sustainability and human-centered building design through its innovative technologies. The office building aims to achieve a BREEAM “Excellent” rating and is therefore a great choice for companies that are seriously concerned with their ecological footprint and looking for an energy efficient building with a sensible layout, where meeting the needs of those working there is a strong priority.

www.libertyofficebuilding.hu

Developers are reacting to these demands by striving to improve the architectural design of projects that are located within the urban environment, with proximity to residential areas and direct public transport links. However, suitably-sized development plots with good visibility are becoming more expensive and increasingly difficult to source and new development areas are emerging.

With regards to locational issues the U.S.-based LEED accreditation system assesses projects on the basis of development density and connectivity, brownfield redevelopment, alternative transportation (public transport access, bicycle storage and changing facilities, electric car parking and charging facilities), protection and restoration of habitat and maximum open space provision.

The U.K.-based BREEAM has the stated aim of enhancing the social value of a project in a given area while mitigating its environmental impact. This system awards transportation points that encourage better access to sustainable

transportation for building users. “Issues focus on the access of public transport and other alternative transportation solutions that supply reductions in car journeys and therefore reduce congestion and CO2 emissions over the life of a building.”

The 21,500 sqm White House by GTC has become the second Budapest office development to be awarded LEED’s highest “Platinum” accreditation. The complex is located in Váci út, adjacent to the metro on the site of

the

100-year-old

former Schleck Elevator Factory and includes a refurbished area.

GTC are regarded as having contributed to the revival of the area as well as the usage of the former factory building with a complex that integrates old and new. For its part, the local District XIII authority has successfully developed the former industrial area into a thriving commercial center, attracting developers to the so-called Váci Corridor with its excellent metro and road transport links. Indeed, so successful have they been that it is becoming difficult to source suitably large plots.

White House by GTC in Budapest.

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Special Report | 17

INSIDE VIEW

Office Design and User Experience at Promenade Gardens

By Ida Kiss, head of design, DVM group

Szervita Square Building by Horizon Development.

The conventional wisdom is that office staff who often work flexible hours prefer to be located in locations that are integrated into the city, so that they can utilize amenities and commute by public transport or bike.

Accessibility is Key

The Belgium developer, Atenor has acquired a circa 5,000 sqm plot for the development of an office project in District III in Bécsi út, near the Rózsadomb area.

“Accessibility and public transport and metro connections are still the most important issues regarding the location for tenants,” explains Nikolett Püschl, development and leasing director at Atenor Hungary.

“Buda was always and will remain a very preferred location and the Pest outer ring road is one of the most dynamically developing parts of the city; we really believe that it [the office project] will be successful and provide a significant upgrade for its macro and microenvironment as well. Sourcing development locations is challenging, but there is still significant development potential in Budapest: we just need to choose well and carefully,” she adds.

In the historic center of Budapest, Horizon Development is currently working on the mixed-use Szervita Square Building, consisting of

around

12,500 sqm

of office, residential and retail space. This is a rare office development in the center where development plots are particularly difficult to source. The Hungarian developer is also working on a hotel redevelopment in central Pest.

Mellow Mood Hotels has completed Párisi Udvar Hotel, an extensive renovation and redevelopment of the Art Deco Párisi Udvar building dating back to the 19th century.

The large number of historic buildings in key central locations do provide the opportunity for their redevelopment into boutique and medium-sized hotels, providing a use-value and an opportunity for the renovation of often run-down classic turn-of-the century listed buildings.

Learn From Others

Zsombor Barta, president of the Hungarian Green Building Council (HuGBC) and a sustainability expert, says there is plenty of best practice for Budapest to draw on.

“One of the best examples is the urban development of Vienna. The Austrian capital has a very similar built environment heritage to Budapest and I think, Budapest can learn a lot from Vienna and utilize its rich architectural heritage together with new developments and refurbishments,” he says.

“Also, Vienna is concentrating highly on sustainable city development elements as well as the ongoing development of its transportation network. Further good examples are from the Nordic countries, cities such as Oslo or Copenhagen; these capitals are really investing in sustainable urban development and livability,” Barta says.

“Tallinn can also serve as a very beneficial example, as the city made huge positive steps in terms of sustainable innovations, smart solutions and urbanization. International examples show that real estate developments and the preservation of the built heritage can go hand-in-hand.”

He argues that making urban public transportation attractive and a real alternative to car-based transportation will be one of the key elements of development in Budapest. A good example is the renewal of Danube passenger ships, which he says are currently very polluting, old and not really attractive for the citizens.

Also the further development of the railway system would be needed in order to make the city’s HÉV network really attractive as a fast 21st century transportation option for commuters.

“The long-term development of the Hungarian capital city has lots of good perspectives and opportunities; the question is always whether decision makers and city developers are able to act and to develop the city in a way that has long-lasting beneficial effects,” Barta cautions.

“Sustainable urban development is the only way to mitigate climate change effects, to increase the livability and the health and wellbeing of citizens. Therefore, a citywide and long-term sustainable urban concept is needed, which is developed in consensus with the different stakeholders and groups, and developments should be steered accordingly. As we understand, the city authority is currently working on such a long-term urban development concept and, therefore, we hope that Budapest’s urban development will be more streamlined,” he concludes.

Interior design is even more focused on the users and what they experience.

Spaces predetermine how people behave. Imagine yourself in a library: it is silence, concentration; in a café: there are murmuring discussions all around, but you would not raise your voice; in your own cozy living room: here you can just be yourself. Interior design creates moods.

The materials we use, the colors and lights have a great impact on how we feel.

Workplaces today are an acknowledged tool for employer branding, empowering and engagement, and require an even more conscious experience-focused design. The challenge in designing a workplace is growing, since the generation gap is increasing within companies.

Younger employees, who have grown up with computer literacy and heavy media use, like to multitask, while baby boomers require more space for focus.

This means that a comprehensive office interior should offer different spaces for individual work and collaboration: meeting rooms of various sizes, agile work corners, brainstorming spaces and work cafés, with ideas and content sharing facilities, but there also need to be areas for leisure and recreation.

Company culture is also going through a huge transformation, with startups emerging at a fast pace. Technology enables working or meeting from a distance, while distraction, created by notifications have a heavy mental impact.

Companies with more traditional values, like those from the financial sector, are also going through this change.

Two notable tenants of Promenade Gardens, Citi and TransferWise are great examples for how the evolution of workplaces is happening today. Citi is a traditional institution while TransferWise is known for developing new ways of banking. Still, these two great brands are closer to each other than what one might think; and not only because both chose Promenade Gardens as their new home on the Váci office corridor.

The design procedure of the two offices were completely different.

Citi followed standards and practices developed throughout its decades of operation and set up an internal project team of experts. TransferWise gave large freedom for ideas after certain strict foundations were laid, and once the framework was clear, delegated the coordination of the planning process to one executive.

Although one wears business formal while the other says come as you are, their goals were identical: to create welcoming and inspiring offices. Our team took different paths to achieve these clients’ aims, but the results had some surprisingly similar features, one of which is that both offices have a cozy work café at their heart, serving primarily as a meeting point and secondly a lunching space, showing that facilitating personal interaction is key.

DVM group’s design studio moving to Promenade Gardens was a strong declaration of confidence in our own creation and the building’s creative and inspiring environment.

Showcasing efficient and modern spatial organization, our co-working-style office makes perfect use of the space, turning it into a community hub and knowledge center, while creating venues for formal and informal project meetings as well.

The diversity of people using Promenade Gardens is exciting. Each company has its own story to tell of why they chose to settle down here and for their process of office fit-out and implementation. Some aimed to redefine their brand (like HBM or Celanese), some wished to strengthen it (Electrolux or Capsys). The promenade of the office complex became a semiurban space, an extension of the city towards the building’s interiors. It is airy and close to nature, with a green garden for contemplation and relaxation.

Both the building and its individual units are great examples of a new workplace experience for multiple generations of employees providing advantages for all types of tenants.

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Architecture has always been about user experience; this is the ultimate outcome of the design process. The built environment defines how we experience cities. They may simply be boring or controversial, nice or ugly, but at the end of the day, we all have opinions once a new building is built, and those buildings instantly become part of our footprint in history.

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WELL Accreditation Reflects Concerns With Interiors Developers are becoming ever more interested in interiors and tenants with the perceived wellbeing of staff in office centers and other buildings as they increasingly seek WELL in addition to BREEAM and LEED third-party sustainability accreditation.

GARY J. MORRELL

Further, as interiors are now regarded as a central element of building development, interior and exterior design are increasingly part of the same design process.

The interior design and fit-out of an office development often reflects concerns over budget in addition to the need for a creative and healthy environment for staff, which could be seen as conflicting demands.

Fit-out costs are seen as more expensive for tenants and the certification and verification process itself certainly is costly. But, although WELL accredited space is more expensive, the payback lies in increased staff productivity, according to WELL experts. The estimated ROI period is said to be relatively shortterm by some WELL experts, although this is difficult to quantify.

“Companies, as tenants, have the possibility to invest in their employees, and create a really inspiring office space, with a fresh and clean air supply, acoustic and thermal comfort, healthy nourishment, natural light and inspiring spaces that can be varied according to the changing

“The WELL Building Standard can help companies to attract and keep the best workforce. I think this is an invaluable accomplishment when the workforce is scarce,” Kurucz says.

Committed

Both Skanska and the Futureal Group are committed to developing all their office projects to WELL standards. The first phase of the WELL Building “Platinum” pre-certified 65,000 sqm Budapest One Business Park, under development by Futureal, is scheduled to deliver 25,000 sqm of office space and 2,600 sqm of commercial and service space as part of a mixed/use urban regeneration project.

The complex, designed by Paulinyi & Partners architectural studio, will include a

Mastercard office interior by DVM group. requirements and preferences of staff,” comments Emese Kovács, a partner and WELL appraiser at MN6 Energy Agency.

“Buildings and offices can be used to ensure a positive experience for both employees and partners,” she adds.

The Washington-based International Well Building Institute system defines the WELL Building Standard as “a performancebased system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing through: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind.”

Regional Picture

Currently, four projects in Budapest are WELL pre-certified, according to the Hungarian Green Building Council (HuGB). With regard to the wider Central and Eastern European region, two office developments in Warsaw have achieved WELL accreditation, as has one in Prague.

Romania also a WELL pre-certified projects. There are currently around 70 WELL-registered projects in CEE, of which only three are already certified.

The Europa Design office furniture showroom and headquarters in the Buda Hills, a redeveloped and renovated Bauhaus villa dating

back to

1936,

could become WELL certified this year: the internal air quality needed to be

improved through climatization systems in order to achieve accreditation.

“WELL accreditation aims to support the wellbeing of employees in the building, inspiring creativity and strengthening the employer branding of the company at the same time. The quality and architectural value of the new HQ building is a significant upgrade from Europa Design’s previous office, that better reflects the brand and its core corporate values,” says Kovács, who is assessing the building.

Although the major priorities of office occupiers could be seen as the location and rental fees, the recruitment and retention of workforce has become a more pressing issue in the tight labor market found in Hungary and across CEE. The provision of a healthy and esthetically appealing atmosphere has also become an important factor in the recruitment and retention of staff for companies in addition to improved productivity.

“The WELL Building Standard can help companies attract and keep the best workforce. According to my view, a big challenge will be to convince office managers of the need for quiet spaces for relaxation and private phone calls. Relaxing areas help to reduce stress and improve work quality,” explains said Regina Kurucz, architect and WELL building energy assessor.

5,000 sqm open

interior green area, meditation room, green roof garden, bicycle storage facilities with showers, rooftop running track and electric car charging facilities.

“WELL certification will become more and more popular as long as there is competition for tenants and the labor shortage forces companies to provide more attractive workplaces for their employees,” says Edina Hornok, head of sustainability at DVM group.

“In my opinion, tenants are the drivers, as the building owners have to satisfy the tenants’ needs in order to fill up the buildings and be profitable, after all,” she adds.

However, some analysts have criticized the expense of implementing WELL, despite the related HR and financial benefits of increased productivity, and reduced employee turnover.

“WELL certification definitely increases fit-out costs, both soft and hard costs, which is a problem for tenants in most cases,” Hornok argues.

“Costs could be improved, because now the certification, performance verification and renewals every three years are expensive. The performance verification process could be improved as well, because currently only accredited companies can perform this, which is a limitation, and it increases the overall costs. Implementing the concepts of WELL will likely become the norm. However, applying for official WELL certification may stay less popular as long as the costs of certification are this high,” she concludes.

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BUILDING YEAR: 1998 FREE SPACE: 3000 sqm PUBLIC TRANSPORT: metro line M3, trolley bus No. 75, 79 CONTACT: Barbara Baráth +36 20 984 4977 River Estates, this grade A office building, is situated at the intersection of Váci út and Dózsa György út. The building has a perfect setting to work in. Be our tenant and enjoy the comfort of abundant services such as a restaurant, a fitness and wellness center, a renewed landscaped garden, shower rooms for cyclists and 357 parking places.

ADDRESS: 1103 Budapest, Kőér utca 2/A BUILDING YEAR: 2011 FREE SPACE: 1563 sqm PUBLIC TRANSPORT: metro line M3, bus: 54, 55, 553, 66E, 66, 84E, 89E, 94E, 123, 123A, 140, 151, 194, 199, 294E, tram: 42, 50, 52 CONTACT: Erste Ingatlan Kft. info@ersteingatlan.hu +36-1/268-4300 The office building provides 14,000 square meters of grade ‘A’ office space and 1,000 square meters of retail space, as well as numerous underground and surface parking for prospective tenants. Laurus Offices consist of three separate blocks surrounding a closed inner courtyard, which with the surrounding green areas will provide a relaxed working space for its tenants. Furthermore, it was one of the first projects in Hungary to receive a “very good” BREEAM certification.

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INSIDE VIEW

New Name, Same Dedication to Service László Vágó, CEO of NEO Property Services, talks to the Budapest Business Journal about his company’s change of name, its market leading position and market trends.

BBJ: What flagship properties are you responsible for?

LV: Several “flagship” institutions of Hungary’s greatest companies are operated by us, such as the new Magyar Telekom HQ with state of the art office PropTech solutions, and the Ericsson HQ building, with a 1,000 sqm laboratory that serves the whole world. We also operate key real estates where permanent 24/365 operations are of national interest.

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BBJ: What would you say sets your service apart?

LV: We offer full-scale integrated FM and PM services and know-how, with national coverage and a 24-hour help desk with stateof-the-art IT support. More than that, we can boast experienced company management and staff, excellent outsourcing experience with great references. We are a 100% transparent operation, with our own Ethical Code and ethical business performance; indeed, we demonstrate law-respecting behavior in all areas of operation.

BBJ: How important is the concept of sustainability in what you do? What examples of being environmentally conscious can you share?

LV: New environment protection goals are set each year. The ISO 14001 certificate was acquired in 2006 and has been maintained ever since. Energy rationalization programs are managed with our partners and special attention is paid to preventing waste creating, as well as the general reduction of waste.

Our “Green Hints” booklet, which seeks to help environmentally-friendly operations with practical pieces of advice, was prepared for and presented to our partners. Our partners are also supported to acquire LEED or BREEAM qualifications.

BBJ: What are the upcoming trends demanded by clients?

LV: Demand for projects requiring engineering knowledge and expertise is constantly growing on the market, as is fit-out projects of rented buildings, PropTech solutions and professional staff trained to operate them are becoming more common, as are projects requiring unique or special engineering knowledge. NEO should fully utilize these trends. These challenges relate to the diversification and development of our existing customer service provision, our portfolio of services and our existing stable market position.

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László Vágó BBJ: Neo Property Services is a relatively new name, but it is not really a new company. Could you explain the background?

László Vágó: NEO Property Services Zrt. has been the leading Hungarian FM & PM company for several years and it has been present on the Hungarian real estate market for 20 years under various names: TCW Rt., Deutsche Telekom Immobilien Zrt., Strabag Property and Facility Services Zrt. The current name change was due to the ownership structure change. The company became 100% owned by Wing Zrt. BBJ: Were there any particular challenges thrown up by the acquisition of Strabag Property and Facility Services Zrt. by Wing Zrt? LV: Wing has been one of the owners of the company since its beginning, thus the ownership structure change did not turn NEO’s life upside down. Having the same management, company structure and staff, it is still out priority to serve our clients professionally, to win new commissions and to keep our position as market leader.

It is a great advantage for NEO that it could forge closer ties with Wing, which has exceptional expertise on the Hungarian market. NEO can make its operation and work processes more effective with Wing and besides its operational services, it can focus more on construction and fit-out projects in the future.

BBJ: NEO’s main focus is technical operations, but the firm wishes to expand beyond that. Into which fields, and why?

LV: As mentioned above, besides operational services (technical and infrastructural facility management, energy audits, owner and tenant representation, letting, contract management, due diligence etc.), a higher priority will be given to construction and fit-out projects in the future, since market demand is constantly growing in that field.

BBJ: Are all your properties in Budapest, or do you have some in the countryside, too?

LV: Our managed portfolio consists of approximately 6,000 buildings, many of which are outside Budapest. The company’s 7/24 operation covers the whole area of Hungary.

BBJ: Could you give us some vital statistics? How many buildings do you manage, what is the total sqm, what is the mix between Class “A” buildings and others, how many people do you employ and what is your turnover?

LV: NEO Property Services manages the largest portfolio in Hungary, more than three million sqm of buildings and more than ten million sqm of external area, parks. Of that, three million sqm, there are approximately 1.5 million where the category “A” ranking is not relevant (production sites, factory buildings, warehouses, data parks, etc.). From the remaining 1.5 million, the proportion of category “A” buildings is 67%.

We have a staff of 650-700 people, and have an annual turnover of approximately HUF 20 billion.

BRINGING BUILDINGS TO LIFE

Strength Built on Expertise. www.neopropertyservices.hu

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Accredited Buildings Require Sustainable PM and FM Market analysts say they see a need for professionals with a knowledge of sustainability issues and integrated PM and FM practices that integrate the different accreditation practices and verification processes.

GARY J. MORRELL

The WELL Building Standard defines itself as “the premier standard for building interior spaces and communities seeking to implement, validate and

“PM is rather like being the mediator in the landlord-tenant-provider triangle,” says István Rézsó, head of business development for asset services at Cushman & Wakefield. He says that, with an increased emphasize on WELL, employees are being prioritized as the trend is bending towards satisfying the needs and in-house well-being of the occupants.

Operation Efficiency

Danubius Hotel Helia terrace, designed by DVM group. measure features that support and advance human health and wellness.”

The accreditation system goes on to say that it further ensures that “performance verification is a critical step in ensuring that WELL buildings are performing as intended. The system is designed to grow in specificity and specialty over time, adapting to accommodate diverse space types and geographies and to respond to

new evidence and public health concerns.”

This requires property management and facility management systems and professionals able to adapt to sustainability requirements. PM is the operation, control and oversight of real estate management, while FM is a professional management discipline focused on the efficient and effective delivery of support services for the organization it serves.

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The BREEAM “In-Use” accreditation system also deals with issues of PM and FM. It aims to enable “property investors, owners, managers and occupiers to drive sustainability improvements through operation efficiency, including how to continually manage the operation of the building effectively.”

With sustainability accreditation, this involves the further monitoring of the functions within a building.

“FM is required to perform regular inspections and not only the usual tests on the buildings’ systems, so they have to be more prepared. PM is only affected if the building itself is certified. Then they have to take care of the certification renewals,” explains Edina Hornok, head of sustainability at DVM group.

The technical PM and FM skills needed to meet the challenges of sustainable development are among the most important that should be developed; this includes systematic and long-term

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INSIDE VIEW

Skanska: Going beyond green in real estate development Fortune magazine’s annual “Change the World” list celebrates companies pursuing socially or environmentally sustainable practices and initiatives through their core business strategy. Skanska made the list this year, being the only construction company to do so.

András Schmidt, sustainability manager of Skanska Property Hungary, tells the BBJ more about how Skanska builds a greener future.

thinking from the various stakeholders, according to Zsombor Barta, sustainability expect and president of the Hungarian Green Building Council (HuGBC).

“An integrated design process which integrates and works together with the different specialists – PM, FM, etc. – is highly important. Also the ongoing and further education of the stakeholders, to get the required knowledge and skills that drive sustainability forward,” he comments.

Holistic View

“Sustainability requires a holistic viewpoint and systematic thinking. According to my personal experience, the external and internal design are still not part of the same process, therefore the different stakeholders still need to be educated in terms of the importance of sustainability and the integration of systematic thinking,” Barta adds. Éva Beleznay, senior sustainability consultant at HuGBC, argues that all project managers, asset and facility managers should have the basic understanding of sustainability requirements.

“On the project management side, more and more PMs meet with the international green certifications during their projects; however, very few have the self-determination of understanding the holistic set of requirements. Most projects have assessors or consultants helping the

process, but it is far less integrated, since consultants do not sit in on all cooperation [meetings], and decisions are made without evaluating the overall sustainability aspects,” she notes.

“On the asset and facility management side, the understanding of building efficiency is most critical. By continuously recording and monitoring energy and water use, the inefficiencies of the building can be discovered.

“Commissioning, seasonal commissioning and recommissioning should be taken seriously, as in our existing and even newly built buildings

15-50% energy

savings could be reached if building services systems are well-calibrated. The well-commissioned systems also results in an increase of comfort levels and livability,” Beleznay adds.

“Advanced cleaning policy or building operation and maintenance must be measured and documented regularly. The proper operation of a ventilation system in a building should not be an upgrade, but with WELL, tenants have the increased motivation to ask for evidence and measurement data regarding the building operation. It also creates a common platform to avoid problems and unsatisfied tenants in the long-term,” she concludes.

Advance Tower by Futureal.

BBJ: Can you tell us more about Skanska’s approach to sustainability?

AS: It is our objective to create futureproof workplaces, having the needs of the tenants in mind. We are continuously developing green solutions, targeting net positive primary buildings.

Reducing energy consumption is one of our goals: by doing so, we contribute to curbing climate change, improving energy security and increasing the asset value for our customers. Our local and international tenants appreciate this approach.

We aim to reduce the carbon footprint during our constriction activities, based on continuous calculations of embodied carbon emission, using local and energy-friendly materials and taking into account the carbon emissions caused by transportation.

In our LEED Gold certified Mill Park office building, the green area ratio exceeds the local regulation by 20%. Its 5,000 sqm internal green courtyard is unique of its kind: an outside gym, table tennis and table football, as well as outdoor workspaces with plug-ins and Wi-Fi, support the wellbeing of the tenants.

Nordic Light Trio will be the first WELLcertified Skanska building in Hungary, and we are also aiming for a LEED certification. As part of its sustainable solutions, office users and the public will be able to enjoy a 2,400 sqm multiactivity landscaped garden. The building will be equipped with a rainwater harvesting system, and the rainwater will be used for irrigation. Chillers with natural refrigerators avoiding negative environmental impact (zero ozone depletion potential and zero greenhouse effect) will be used. Bicycle storage facilities and electric car chargers will be available within the complex.

BBJ: Skanska is continuously working on numerous innovations. What are the most recent?

AS: We have launched our own integrated building operating system, called “Connected by Skanska”. The

András Schmidt system includes a mobile application for everyday users and a web portal for tenant and building administration, working as an open platform integrating smart and user-friendly functionalities with a social approach on building community in an office complex.

We have also started to introduce smart helmets to increase safety at our construction sites. The helmet detects and gives warnings about all kinds of risks, such as vibrations, impact, falls or changes in temperature. This initiative is the first of its kind in Europe.

BBJ: Skanska is pioneering green and sustainable solutions on the market.

Can you give us some examples?

AS: One of these solutions is green concrete. It can reduce nitrogen dioxide molecules in the air into neutral nitrogen through a photocatalytic process. It is a unique product that cleans the air of harmful compounds emitted by cars and has self-cleaning properties. The measurements have proved that the area where it has been installed showed a 30% lower concentration of NO2 in relation to a traditional concrete surface section.

Skanska first used it for concrete pavement in Warsaw; this was the first introduction of green concrete in the CEE region in connection with a commercial project.

Skanska’s commercial development business unit in CEE is working with Saule Technologies to be the first developer worldwide to cover office buildings with semi-transparent perovskite solar cells on a commercial scale. We have exclusive rights to use this solution in building façades and noise barriers across all Skanska markets. As opposed to traditional solar panels that only work efficiently while properly exposed to direct sunlight on the roof, these solar cells can work with dispersed light.

The flexible, lightweight panels are available in different colors. This is a milestone towards zero-energy and carbon neutral office investments.

NOTE: ALL ARTICLES MARKED INSIDE VIEW ARE PAID PROMOTIONAL CONTENT FOR WHICH THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL DOES NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Eiffel Palace atrium.

BBJ: Why was Skanska named on such a prestigious ranking?

András Schmidt: We are proud to be change makers and have been proactive on sustainability issues for many years. As a matter of self-interest as well as social responsibility, the company is moving ahead to advance its sustainability performance. Our buildings are efficient in terms of operating costs, and deliver longterm value to investors and occupants.

We are fortunate that, as a global development and construction company, we benefit from best practices shared across our markets and projects.

22 | 3

Special Report

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Sustainability Accreditation the Commercial Norm Across Region

Risk Mitigation

Accreditation for commercial real estate developments from an independent, third-party sustainability organization is now very much the norm for development in the Central European office markets and increasingly in other sectors such as logistics and retail.

GARY J. MORRELL

Established regional developers such as, Atenor, CA Immo, CPI, GTC, HB Reavis, Horizon Development, Immofinanz, Skanska and Wing have common sustainable development policies across Hungary, Central Europe and Western Europe.

This could be seen as market pressures exerting influence on developers and building-owners to meet the demands of stakeholders such as tenants, staff and investors, but at the same time it shows their commitment to conform to sustainability regulations and expectations of governments, environmental pressure groups and other institutions.

This brings into play issues regarding the planning, construction and management of buildings and their immediate surroundings and interconnectivity with the wider urban environment applied at the planning, construction, management and exit/ sales phases.

The major certifying bodies are the U.K.-based BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and the U.S.based LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and, increasingly, WELL, which focusses more on the inhabitants of the building, rather than the structure itself.

“The certification systems help to highlight the importance of systematic thinking during the design, construction

also optimize water, gas and electricity consumption in the complex.

Elsewhere in its portfolio, Prologis has been awarded BREEAM “Outstanding”, the highest BREEAM level, for the 37,000 sqm Building 3 at Prologis Park Prague-Airport.

“The majority of investors are indeed requesting sustainability thirdparty certifications. This is also understandable as the risk mitigation and future-proofing developments are not only economically beneficial but also important for the different other stakeholders of the sector (tenants, building users, insurance companies, etc.),” explains HuGBC’s Barta.

Green accreditation is equally an expected norm in investment deals at the higher end of the market. Skanska, for example, has sold the

14,000 sqm

and operation of the buildings,” comments Zsombor Barta, a sustainability expert and president of the Hungarian Green Building Council (HuGBC).

Beneficial Shift

“The importance of sustainability features and issues have become at least a ‘must have’ on the commercial real estate market, therefore there is definitely a beneficial shift in the Central European area, especially after the political changes and the ‘old fashioned’ construction practices. In terms of efficiency, it is always the question which and what level of sustainability is implemented. The certifications can provide a beneficial framework, but it has to be utilized accordingly to receive real benefits and efficiency,” he adds.

The Hungarian developer and investor Wing has achieved BREEAM Excellent accreditation for the built-to-suit Magyar Telekom headquarters, designed

by TIBA Architect Studio. The 58,000 sqm complex includes two restaurants, an internal garden, roof top fitness club and running track.

“Wing’s mission is to partner with Hungary’s leading corporations to deliver long-term and environmentally conscious solutions to address their international property needs,” says Noah Steinberg, chairman and CEO of the developer.

“We are committed to creating sustainable buildings that go beyond today’s requirements, help save the environment and feature people-oriented services for increased employee comfort,

as demonstrated by the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating we have just received for the Telekom headquarters, and by the rating we are targeting for the Liberty Office Building,” he adds.

Logistics developers are creating increasingly complicated industrial complexes in reaction to developing tenant requirements such as automized warehouses and a growing concern with the working environment and the comfort of staff.

Other factors in play include tenants looking to save on utility costs, and developers needing to comply with international environmental regulations.

Thus the major industrial park developers and operators are also seeking third-party sustainability accreditation.

Prologis has achieved BREEAM sustainability accreditation for six logistics facilities in Hungary as part of its CEE green development policy. Prologis is developing a 10,600 sqm speculative facility at Prologis Harbor Park that will be submitted for BREEAM “Very Good” accreditation.

The developer says sustainable features will include high grade insulated wall panels and roof systems that, together with high performance gas-fired heaters, can cut heating costs

by

30%.

Further, energy efficient LED lighting and large skylights reduce electricity costs by 40% compared to the latest lighting standard. Smart metering will

Nordic Light Trio office building to JR AMC, a South Korean real estate investment trust.

The area around the Nordic Light complex will offer 2,400 sqm of landscaped multi-activity gardens open to tenants and neighboring communities, bicycle storage facilities with changing rooms and showers, as well as parking with charging stations adapted for electric vehicles.

The complex was designed by Paulinyi-Reith & Partners and could be the first WELL-certified Skanska building in Hungary in addition to its LEED “Gold” certifications. In another high end deal, the German closed-end Warburg-HIH RE fund has purchased the LEED “Platinum” certified White House from GTC. “Green building certifications have become the norm in high quality commercial real estate developments.

However, it is still not the norm in the public building sector and in sport facilities developments,” Barta points out.

“As president of the HuGBC, I would like to actively work with stakeholders in the public building sector to establish sustainability features and third-party certifications within the that sector.

According to our opinion, it would be highly important for the public sector to showcase sustainability and even more important to spend the taxpayers’ money on future-proofed and sustainable developments only. This would have a beneficial effect on the social level,” Zsombor concludes.

Share of Sustainability Registered CEE Office Buildings (summer 2019) Country

BREEAM LEED WELL

Czech Rep.

173

51

1

Hungary

106

53

4*

Romania

165

44

2*

Poland

692

166

2+5*

Slovakia

70

18

0

*pre-certified

Source: HuGBC

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

ADVERTISEMENT

3

Special Report | 23

Millennium Gardens: New Office Jewel on the Danube

Astonishing location by the Danube and unique design TriGranit’s latest development in Hungary, the Millennium Gardens, the final element of the two-time FIABCI award-winning Millennium City Center in Budapest, is a true specialty on the Budapest real estate market: it is situated by the Danube, along a uniquely maintained green area with a 1.5 km long promenade and proximity to the river offering plenty of places nearby for relaxation, leisure and recreational activities, while the adjacent MÜPA Budapest, National Theater and the nearby Budapest Park support cultural re-charging.

The concept for the two-winged complex, with its modern architecture and overall glass surface, was planned to suit a uniquely located area with an outstanding neighborhood. Several design solutions support both natural shading and comfort, in accordance with the building’s energy-saving operation.

Ongoing structural works At the moment, structural works are being carried out and, according to the plans, the Class “A” office building will reach ground level by the end of October this year. Millennium Gardens will offer around 37,000 sqm of office space and more than 500 parking spaces, focusing on the current needs of employees and tenants. First tenants can move into the building from the first half of 2021.

Adapting to potential tenants and current Millennial employees’ needs, while considering sustainability Adapting to the newest city utilization trends and to the Millennial employees’ needs, the ten-story Class “A” office building will offer facilities for more than 200 bicycles, including changing rooms and showers. Additionally, the office complex will have electric car chargers, facilitating environmental awareness. The spacious, green garden promotes recreation and a healthy work-life balance, as well as working at an alternative location, and can also function as a public space, a meeting point and a place for employees to have lunch. The office complex will also provide a place for a

MG Exterior. restaurant on the ground floor, with seating for 300 people, alongside further service units. The building’s design was planned with sustainability in mind, with modern architectural solutions employed by the developer, TriGranit, in accordance with the BREEAM “Very good” certification.

Location, location, location The location of the building is excellent in terms of public transport. Four tram lines, several bus routes, two suburban rail lines and the prospective fifth metro line are situated nearby. Through these, the city center is approachable within 15 minutes, and long-distance commuters also have a wide variety of options available when reaching the complex.

City in the city In addition to these, Millennium City Center has become a real town inside Budapest over the past decade: accessible nearby facilities include cafés, restaurants, fast food outlets, a kindergarten, fitness centers and even a health center. Thanks to service units in the neighborhood, employees can arrange several of their everyday tasks as well. After almost 20 years of intense rehabilitation work, the area has become a popular, secure and comfortable residential, office and cultural area. And there are still places and exact plans for further projects in the close vicinity of the project to be realized: mix-use, residential and institutional.

TriGranit developing in other countries

The Millenium Gardens view of the Danube.

Besides Millennium Gardens, TriGranit remains active abroad as well; the company will be launching the construction this year of a further two office buildings in the B4B complex in Krakow, for a total of 20,000 sqm GLA, and the first phase of Silesia for Business in Katowice with 26,000 sqm GLA. With these projects, TriGranit’s office pipeline is close to 100,000 sqm GLA in three CEE cities.

24 | 3

Special Report

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Green Office Buildings aveRage monthly Rent on aug. 1, 2019 aveRage monthly seRviCe ChaRge on august 1, 2019 (euRo/sqm)

yeaR established

67,020 71,834

8 2,600

21,107 5

14–15 HUF 1,000

–

Ÿ

gReen Roof

planning phase

final phase

ClassifiCation of existing building

✓

inteRnal yaRd With paRk

eneRgy effiCienCy pRogRam

✓

eleCtRiC/hybRid CaR ChaRgeRs

independent poWeR supply

✓

gRey WateR Reuse

oWn seWage management

✓

loCal ReCyCling

publiC tRanspoRtation

✓

natuRal ventilation

biCyCle stoRage

–

daylight and mootion sensoRs

solaR ColleCtoRs

gReen seRviCes

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

–

–

Real estate agenCy (agenCies) oR agent(s)

CuRRent leasable offiCe spaCe (sqm) minimum lease teRms (yeaRs)

CuRRent majoR tenants

stage of gReen CeRtifiCation Rating

Result of validation (bReeam)

no. of levels aveRage level size (sqm)

Company Website

net offiCe spaCe (sqm) total gRoss building aRea (sqm)

Rank

Ranked by net office space (sqm)

oWneRship (%) hungaRian nonhungaRian

BREEAM Excellent

CBRE, Cushman

Hungaria Greens Kft. (100) –

1087 Budapest, Hungária körút 30.

(1) 785-5208 info@atenor.hu

JLL, hungary@ eu.jll.com, Cushman & Wakefield, liberty@ cushwake.com

Wing Zrt. (100) –

1097 Budapest, Könyves Kálmán körút 32.

(1) 451 4760 sales@wing.hu

– Revetas Capital (100)

1095 Budapest, Lechner Ödön fasor 10/B (1) 456-6200 mgs@trigranit.com

aRéna business Campus

www.arenabusinesscampus.hu 1

libeRty iRodaház 2 www.wing.hu

38,672 40,728

millennium gaRdens 3

www.millenniumgardens.hu

37,000 74,844

9 4,800

40,728 5

Ground floor + 37,000 5 10 3,650

15 3.90

–

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

BREEAM Excellent

Ÿ Ÿ

2018

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

BREEAM Mónika Takács, Very Good (70) 197-9189

CenteR point 4

www.gtc.hu

36,916 40,873

9 5,600

– 5

14 3.88

2004/ Exxon-Mobil, 2006 Honeywell, Ecolab

–

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓ LEED Gold

–

Ÿ Ÿ

1139 Budapest, Váci út 81.

(1) 412-3680 leasing@gtc.hu

2008

AmRest, Atmedia, Centrade, Chiesi, CPI Hungary, KRKA, Magyar Posta, Mortoff , NSC, Orange, Orbico, Prémium Pénztárak, Samsung

–

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM Very Good

–

– CPI Property Group (100)

1138 Budapest, Dunavirág utca 2–6.

(1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

Cushman & Wakefield

– CA IMMO AG (100)

1133 Budapest, Váci út 76.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

gateWay offiCe paRk www.gatewaybc.hu, www.cpipgroup.hu 5

addRess phone email

35,900 50,800

9 1,500

4,500 3–5

12.5– 13.5 1,200 HUF

32,000 38,000

9

Ÿ

Ÿ

13.95–15 1,350 HUF

–

Albemarle, Regus, Ferrero

31,200 38,400

9 4,500

1,195 5

13–14.5 1,200 HUF

2009

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM JLL, Robertson Very Good

– Immofinanz AG (100)

1134 Budapest, Váci út 45.

(1) 236-0435 mail@immofinanz.com

30,041 52,184

11

Ÿ

453 5

25 4.6

1996

MKIK, BÉT, AFFIDEA

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

✓

–

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM Avestus Real Very Good Estate Hungary

– (100)

1054 Budapest, Szabadság tér 7.

(1) 302-9010 anett.eles@ bankcenter.hu

29,800 31,500

16 850

1,700 5

16 4.2

2006

IBM, Huawei, – MetLife, BlackRock

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM Very Good

Ÿ Ÿ

1138 Budapest, Népfürdő utca 22.

(1) 412-3680 leasing@gtc.hu

28,520 34,300

8 4,000

– 5

13–13.5 1,200 HUF

2009

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

BREEAM JLL, Cushman Very Good & Wakefield

– IMMOFINANZ AG (100)

1095 Budapest, Soroksári út 30–34.

(1) 236-0435 mail@immofinanz.com

26,500 30,100

8

Ÿ Ÿ

13–14 1,350 HUF

2009

Siemens, British Telecom, Transcom

– CA IMMO (100)

1117 Budapest, Budafoki út 91–93.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

Capital squaRe 6

www.caimmo.com, www.capitalsquare.hu

5

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

myhive átRium paRk

www.myhive-offices.com/hu 7

8

ű

bank CenteR

www.bankcenter.hu

duna toWeR 9

www.dunatower.hu

myhive halleR gaRdens 10

www.myhive-offices.com/hu ű

Cushman & Wakefield

ip West

www.caimmo.com 11

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ – Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

–

solaR ColleCtoRs

biCyCle stoRage

publiC tRanspoRtation

oWn seWage management

independent poWeR supply

eneRgy effiCienCy pRogRam

Ÿ

– 5

Ÿ Ÿ

2016

Ÿ

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

9

Ÿ

13.5–15 1,350 HUF

1999

IBM

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

6

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

2017

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

–

BREEAM – Very Good, LEED Gold

–

Erste Alapkezelő Zrt. (100) –

1133 Budapest, Váci út 80.

(1) 920-2193 erstealapkezelo@ erstealapkezelo.hu

14.95– 15.95 3.3

2018

Nemzeti Agrárgazdasági Kamara, Innobyte, Multisoft, Infogroup

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM Very Good

–

Infogroup Csoport (100) –

1115 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 105-113.

(1) 481-4530 info@infogroup.hu

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

Ÿ Ÿ

–

–

✓

BREEAM Excellent

–

Váci Corner Offices Kft. (100) –

1138 Budapest, Váci út 144–150.

(1) 580-2280 info@ vacicorneroffices.hu

natuRal ventilation

loCal ReCyCling

gRey WateR Reuse

eleCtRiC/hybRid CaR ChaRgeRs

inteRnal yaRd With paRk

gReen Roof

planning phase

final phase

ClassifiCation of existing building

Ÿ

daylight and mootion sensoRs

24,000 26,000

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

Real estate agenCy (agenCies) oR agent(s)

yeaR established

6

24,770 25,303

gReen seRviCes

Result of validation (bReeam)

aveRage monthly Rent on aug. 1, 2019 aveRage monthly seRviCe ChaRge on august 1, 2019 (euRo/sqm)

www.vacigreens.hu

CuRRent leasable offiCe spaCe (sqm) minimum lease teRms (yeaRs)

váCi gReens b épület

stage of gReen CeRtifiCation Rating

CuRRent majoR tenants

no. of levels aveRage level size (sqm)

12

net offiCe spaCe (sqm) total gRoss building aRea (sqm)

Rank

Company Website

Special Report | 25

3

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

oWneRship (%) hungaRian nonhungaRian

addRess phone email

BREEAM Excellent

–

OTP Prime Ingatlanbefektetési Alap (100) –

1138 Budapest, Bence utca 1.

(1) 336-0900 alapkelezelo@ otpingatlanalap.hu

Cushman & Wakefield

– CA IMMO (100)

1092 Budapest, Köztelek utca 6.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

City gate

www.caimmo.com 13

14

pRomenade gaRdens

23,311

15

baRtók udvaR ii.

23,000 37,300

16

váCi CoRneR offiCes

21,047 33,000

www.promenadegardens.hu

www.bartokudvar.hu

www.vacicorneroffices.hu

Ÿ

Ÿ

5

5

7 16,000 2,500– 5 4000

8

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

2014

Ÿ

–

Ÿ

5

váCi gReens f épület www.vacigreens.hu 17

20,394 27,112

7

Ÿ

Ÿ 5

16 3

2020

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

BREEAM Excellent

Robertson, Cushman

City Tower Kft. (100) –

1138 Budapest, Váci út 117–129.

(1) 785-5208 info@atenor.hu

20,245 30,141

10 2,700

3,000 5

14 4

1998

Digi, Danone, DM, Life1, Erzsébet Táborok, KIFÜ

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM Very Good

–

– S IMMO AG (100)

1134 Budapest, Váci út 35.

(1) 429-5050 office@simmoag.hu

20,205 25,311

7 3,200

Ÿ 5

16 3

2020

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

Robertson, Cushman

M.E.F.G Zrt. (100) –

1138 Budapest, Váci út 129–133.

(1) 785-5208 info@atenor.hu

20,200 42,000

8 3,400

10,300 5

15.5 4.1

2004

ING, Deloitte, Roche, NN

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

LEED Gold for Com✓ mercial Interiors

Horizon Development

– (100)

1068 Budapest, Dózsa György út 84/B (1) 473-1209 leasing@ horizondevelopment.hu

19,663 21,200

7

Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

2019

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

– LEED Gold

–

(100) –

1117 Budapest, Alíz utca 3.

(1) 327-2050 office@robertson.hu

–

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

–

–

✓

LEED GOLD

Eston Zrt.

Ÿ Ÿ

1123 Budapest, Alkotás utca 55–61.

(1) 354-3070 info@hillside.hu

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM Excellent

–

– ZFP Realitní Fond (100)

1138 Budapest, Bence utca 3.

– info@zfpinvest.com

RiveR estates www.simmoag.hu 18

váCi gReens e épület www.vacigreens.hu 19

BREEAM

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Excellent

paRk atRium

www.parkatrium.hu 20

21

offiCe gaRden iv www.officegarden.hu

Ÿ

19,656 21,923

8 2,740

– 5

Ÿ Ÿ

2018

Fundamenta Lakáskassza, Hewlett-Packard, Concorde Értékpapír, Erste Bank, Waberer Medical Center

18,920 20,035

Ÿ

6

– 5

Ÿ Ÿ

2015

Ÿ

hillside offiCes 22

23

www.hillsideoffices.hu

váCi gReens C épület www.vacigreens.hu

www.bbj.hu

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

2007

Ÿ

14–15.5 1,440 HUF

2008

Ÿ

15.5-17.5 1,100 2020 HUF

Ÿ

gReen Roof

inteRnal yaRd With paRk

eleCtRiC/hybRid CaR ChaRgeRs

gRey WateR Reuse

loCal ReCyCling

natuRal ventilation

daylight and mootion sensoRs

eneRgy effiCienCy pRogRam

independent poWeR supply

oWn seWage management

publiC tRanspoRtation

biCyCle stoRage

solaR ColleCtoRs

Real estate agenCy (agenCies) oR agent(s)

2002

Result of validation (bReeam)

12–13 1,300 HUF

ClassifiCation of existing building

Ÿ Ÿ

gReen seRviCes

final phase

yeaR established

CuRRent majoR tenants

stage of gReen CeRtifiCation Rating

planning phase

aveRage monthly Rent on aug. 1, 2019 aveRage monthly seRviCe ChaRge on august 1, 2019 (euRo/sqm)

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

CuRRent leasable offiCe spaCe (sqm) minimum lease teRms (yeaRs)

Company Website

no. of levels aveRage level size (sqm)

Special Report net offiCe spaCe (sqm) total gRoss building aRea (sqm)

Rank

26 | 3

oWneRship (%) hungaRian nonhungaRian

addRess phone email

Cushman & Wakefield

– CA IMMO (100)

1074 Budapest, Rákóczi út 70–72.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

Ÿ

– (100)

1117 Budapest, Gábor Dénes utca 2.

(30) 822-5466 tarroe@wing.hu

–

– CA IMMO AG (100)

1095 Budapest, Lechner Ödön fasor 8.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

Cushman & Wakefield Kft., Eston International Zrt.

BudaPart Auratus Kft. (100) –

1117 Budapest, Dombóvári út 27.

(1) 241-0080 sales@budapart.hu

–

– CA IMMO (100)

1114 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 43–47.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

–

– (100)

1093 Budapest, Lechner Ödön fasor 6.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

–

GRT Group (100) –

1117 Budapest, Alíz utca 4.

(1) 382-7020 grtgroup@grtgroup.hu

Cushman & Wakefield Kft., Eston International Zrt.

Bpart Aspius Kft. (100) –

1117 Budapest, Dombóvári út 26.

(1) 241-0080 sales@budapart.hu

–

– CA IMMO (100)

1095 Budapest, Lechner Ödön fasor 6.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.com

R70 offiCe Complex www.r70.eu 24

25

infopaRk d épület www.wing.hu

18,700 19,000

10

Ÿ

18,500

Ÿ

7

Ÿ

Ÿ

18,000 21,000

8

Ÿ

Ÿ

17,638 20,092

12 2,400

6,300 5

17,000 30,000

Ÿ

9

Ÿ

13–14 1,300 HUF

2003

HP, Novartis

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

8

Ÿ 5

14–15.5 1,495 HUF

2008

Nestlé, KLM

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ in Use Very

Ÿ Ÿ

2017

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

– LEED Gold

15.5-18.5 1,100 2021 HUF

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

3

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ –

–

✓

LEED Silver

millennium toWeR iii www.millennium-towers.hu 26

5

BREEAM

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ in Use Very Good

budapaRt gate www.budapart.hu 27

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

LEED GOLD

baRtók ház

www.caimmo.com 28

5

millennium toWeR ii www.millennium-towers.hu 28

30

offiCe gaRden iii www.officegarden.hu

17,000 18,600

Ÿ

16,922 18,500

6

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

16,595 19,800

7 3,100

16,595 5

16,300 18,800

Ÿ

7

Ÿ

BREEAM Good

budapaRt City

www.budapartcity.hu 31

LEED GOLD

millennium toWeR i

www.millennium-towers.hu 32

5

14–16 1,750 HUF

2006

Cognizant, Vodafone

BREEAM

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ in Use Very Good

33

infopaRk e épület

16,000 18,000

6 2,500

1,100 5

13–14 3.3

2009

Lufthansa Systems, EIT, National Instruments, 3M

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

–

✓

LEED Silver

–

Magyar Posta Takarék Ingatlan Befektetési Alap (100) –

34

gReen CouRt offiCe

15,875 20,200

7 2,400

15,875 5

16 3.8

Ÿ

–

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

Ÿ

Colliers International, JLL

DG 148-Béta Kft., DG 144 Kft. (100) –

35

váCi gReens a épület

15,693 24,803

Ÿ

6

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

2013

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

BREEAM Excellent

–

VG 117 Ingatlankezelő Kft. (100) –

www.diofaalapkezelo.hu

–

www.vacigreens.hu

5

1117 Budapest, Neumann János utca 1/E (1) 888-4120 alapkezelo@ diofaalapkezelo.hu 1134 Budapest, Dózsa György út 142–144.

(20) 229 7115 linda.hargitai@ colliers.com 1138 Budapest, Váci út 117–119.

– –

aveRage monthly Rent on aug. 1, 2019 aveRage monthly seRviCe ChaRge on august 1, 2019 (euRo/sqm)

yeaR established

15,500 18,300

10 2,500

– 5

Ÿ

2012

14,600 17,588

7 2,500

14,600 5

13,858 27,000

6–7 1,150

1,563

11.5

13,600 15,550

8 2,000

213 5

13,000 14,600

Ÿ

7

Ÿ

12,997 27,537

8 1,800

13,845 5

stage of gReen CeRtifiCation Rating

oWn seWage management

independent poWeR supply

eneRgy effiCienCy pRogRam

natuRal ventilation

daylight and mootion sensoRs

loCal ReCyCling

gRey WateR Reuse

eleCtRiC/hybRid CaR ChaRgeRs

inteRnal yaRd With paRk

gReen Roof

planning phase

final phase

ClassifiCation of existing building

Result of validation (bReeam)

Real estate agenCy (agenCies) oR agent(s)

oWneRship (%) hungaRian nonhungaRian

Avis Budget Group, MSCI, Deichmann, ✓ Isys-On, ABRS Holding

✓

✓

–

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

LEED Platinum

–

Torony Ingatlan Befektetési Alap (100) –

1134 Budapest, Kassák Lajos utca 19.

(1) 888-4120 alapkezelo@ diofaalapkezelo.hu

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

LEED SILVER

Cushman & Wakefield Kft., Eston International Zrt.

Kopaszi Gát Kft. (100) –

1117 Budapest, Hengermalom út 70.

(1) 241-0080 sales@budapart.hu

2011

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

–

BREEAM ✓ in Use Very Good

–

Erste Ingatlan Kft. (100) –

1103 Budapest, Kőér utca 2/A (1) 268-4300 info@ersteingatlan.hu

11,5–16 1,200 HUF

2003

Ÿ

–

–

✓

–

–

–

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

CBRE

– IMMOFINANZ AG (100)

1075 Budapest, Kéthly Anna tér 1.

(1) 236-0435 mail@immofinanz.com

13.5– 14.5 1,350 HUF

2004

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

–

– CA IMMO (100)

1027 Budapest, Kapás utca 6–12.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

14.85–16 1,200 2019 HUF

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

BREEAM Very Good

–

– CPI Property Group (100)

1139 Budapest, Váci út 99.

(1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

1,160

CuRRent majoR tenants

solaR ColleCtoRs

publiC tRanspoRtation

gReen seRviCes

biCyCle stoRage

www.diofaalapkezelo.hu

CuRRent leasable offiCe spaCe (sqm) minimum lease teRms (yeaRs)

gReen house

no. of levels aveRage level size (sqm)

36

net offiCe spaCe (sqm) total gRoss building aRea (sqm)

Rank

Company Website

Special Report | 27

3

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

addRess phone email

budapaRt haRboR www.budapart.hu 37

14.5-16.5 1,100 2021 HUF

lauRus iRodaházak www.laurusoffices.hu 38

Ÿ

myhive gReenpoint 7 39

www.myhive-offices.com/hu ű

víziváRos offiCe CenteR 40

www.vizivaros.eu

5

Ÿ

BREEAN Very Good

balanCe hall

www.balancehall.hu 41

42

infopaRk a épület

12,700 13,700

5 4,000

250 5

13–14 1,350 HUF

–

IBM, Atos Magyarország, Invitech

–

✓

✓

–

–

✓

✓

–

✓

–

–

✓

–

–

✓

– LEED Gold

–

Magyar Posta Takarék Ingatlan Befektetési Alap (100) –

43

v17

11,840 18,000

11 1,638

– 5

15.5 1,242 HUF

Ÿ

E.ON

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

BREEAM Very Good

–

Torony Ingatlanbefektetési Alap (100) –

11,736 12,581

9 1,450

– 5

Ÿ

Cargill, CEDCO, DKÜ, Doktor24, 1996 Friesland Campina, – Invitel, Otis, Tech Mahindra

✓

✓

–

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

1134 Budapest, Váci út 37.

(1) 225-0912 bzadori@ convergen-ce.com

11,500 15,000

6

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

2006

Ÿ

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

10,300 24,870

7 2,200

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

10,000 12,300

7

Ÿ

14–16 1,540 HUF

2011

K&H, Oracle

www.diofaalapkezelo.hu

www.v17.hu

1117 Budapest, Neumann János utca 1.

(1) 888-4120 alapkezelo@ diofaalapkezelo.hu 1134 Budapest, Váci út 17.

(1) 888-4120 alapkezelo@ diofaalapkezelo.hu

Cityzen offiCes

www.cityzenirodahaz.hu 44

45

v48

www.v48.hu

4

–

–

✓

BREEAM

ConvergenCE

– KGAL (100)

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ ✓ –

–

BREEAM Very Good

–

– Codic International S.A. (100)

1132 Budapest, Váci út 48 e-f (1) 266-6000 info.hungary@codic.eu

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

1133 Budapest, Véső utca 7.

(1) 382-9100 property@skanska.hu

–

– CA IMMO (100)

1095 Budapest, Lechner Ödön fasor 9.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

–

–

Ÿ Ÿ –

noRdiC light tRio www.skanska.hu 46

5

millennium toWeR "h" épület 47

www.millennium-towers.hu

Ÿ

5

Ÿ ✓ ✓ Ÿ Ÿ ✓ Ÿ Ÿ ✓ Ÿ ✓ ✓ Ÿ ✓ Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

Special Report

yeaR established

solaR ColleCtoRs

biCyCle stoRage

publiC tRanspoRtation

oWn seWage management

independent poWeR supply

eneRgy effiCienCy pRogRam

natuRal ventilation

daylight and mootion sensoRs

loCal ReCyCling

9,965

Ÿ

8

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

–

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

✓

✓

9,469 15,290

5 2,230

– 5

12 4

2002

Novodata, Streamnet, Fővárosi Vízművek, Lactalis

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

–

–

–

Advisesoft, AMEX, Brendon, Carrier, Euler Hermes, Homemedical, Interticket, Mall.hu, Opus, Starschema

–

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

–

Bázis Office Center, GanzSkoda, KKBK, 1996 Magyar Konyha – Magazin, NN Biztosító, Salzgitter Mannesmann

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

✓

–

–

✓

–

Ÿ

– PATRIZIA (100)

1093 Budapest, Közraktár utca 30–32.

(1) 382-7560 office@gamma-am.hu

✓

BREEAM Very Good

–

– S IMMO AG (100)

1138 Budapest, Váci út 182.

(1) 429-5050 office@simmoag.hu

–

✓

BREEAM Very Good

–

– CPI Property Group (100)

1139 Budapest, Váci út 99.

(1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

–

–

✓

BREEAM

ConvergenCE

CBC Ingatlanfejlesztő Kft. (100) –

1027 Budapest, Horvát utca 12–26.

(1) 225-0912 bzadori@ convergen-ce.com

–

✓

BREEAM Very Good

–

– IMMOFINANZ AG (100)

1037 Budapest, Szépvölgyi út 35–37.

(1) 236-0435 mail@immofinanz.com

LEED Platinum

Ÿ

(100) –

1052 Budapest, Szervita tér 8.

(1) 473-1209 leasing@ horizondevelopment.hu

Ÿ

Eston International Zrt.

WING Zrt. (100) –

1143 Budapest, Gizella út 51-57.

(1) 451 4760 sales@wing.hu

BREEAM Very Good

–

– CPI Property Group (100)

1139 Budapest, Váci út 99.

(1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

Ÿ

– (100)

1052 Budapest, Deák Ferenc utca 5.

(1) 473-1209 leasing@ horizondevelopment.hu

–

– CA IMMO (100)

1027 Budapest, Ganz utca 16.

(1) 501-2800 office@caimmo.hu

ConvergenCE

Árpád Office Building Kft. (100) –

1133 Budapest, Árbóc utca 6.

(1) 225-0912 bzadori@ convergen-ce.com

ClassifiCation of existing building

Ÿ

final phase

oWneRship (%) hungaRian nonhungaRian

planning phase

gReen Roof

inteRnal yaRd With paRk

eleCtRiC/hybRid CaR ChaRgeRs

gRey WateR Reuse

Real estate agenCy (agenCies) oR agent(s)

aveRage monthly Rent on aug. 1, 2019 aveRage monthly seRviCe ChaRge on august 1, 2019 (euRo/sqm)

CuRRent majoR tenants

gReen seRviCes

Result of validation (bReeam)

CuRRent leasable offiCe spaCe (sqm) minimum lease teRms (yeaRs)

RiveRpaRk iRodák

48 ww.riverpark.hu, www.gamma-am.hu

stage of gReen CeRtifiCation Rating

no. of levels aveRage level size (sqm)

Company Website

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

net offiCe spaCe (sqm) total gRoss building aRea (sqm)

Rank

28 | 3

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

addRess phone email

blue Cube

www.simmoag.hu 49

balanCe building www.balancebuilding.hu

9,400 14,450

50

CentRal business CenteR

51 www.convergence.com

szépvölgyi business paRk 52

www.immofinanz.com ű

10 999

420 3–5

13 1,200

9,393 12,158

9 1,200

850 5

8,900 10,300

5 2,000

– 5

7,800 25,000

6 1,850

– 10

Ÿ Ÿ

7,627 8,167

7 1,000

3,000 5

6,500 7,325

4 1,550

320 5

Ÿ Ÿ

11.5–12.5 1,200 2004 HUF

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

–

–

2020

Spaces

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

12.9 3.5

–

TÜV Rheinland

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

13.5 1,200

–

BVTechnology, Colonnade, Magic Tools, Megadrive, USN

–

✓

✓

–

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

szeRvita squaRe building www.szervita.com 53

54

gizella loft www.wing.hu

Ÿ Ÿ

balanCe loft

www.balanceloft.hu 55

–

–

✓

–

BREEAM in Use, LEED ✓ Gold for commercial interiors

váCi 1

www.vaci1.hu 5,700 13,800

56

6

Ÿ

– 5

Ÿ Ÿ

2016

Ÿ

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

Canada squaRe www.caimmo.com 57

áRpád CenteR 58

www.arpadcenter.hu

4,800 5,000

6

Ÿ

Ÿ

4,700 5,373

9 900

135 3

5

13–13.95 1,420 2004 HUF

Ÿ Ÿ

1994

Kanadai nagykövetség

AG Mamas, Aquarea, EX-ID, SVEA, VS-Faktor

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ LEED Gold

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

✓

–

–

✓

–

–

–

✓

Ÿ

4

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Socialite Who is Bryan Adams and why is he Coming to Budapest?

On September 28, courtesy of the Hungarian National Lottery Company, Bryan Adams will give a free concert in Heroes’ Square, Budapest.

The event is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of what’s called the “Scandinavian” lotto.

I have absolutely no idea why it’s so-named.

DAVID HOLZER

My question is: why choose Bryan Adams to give the gift of rock to the people of Hungary? A gift that, judging by the cost of tickets for dates on Mr. Adams’ current “Shine a Light” tour could be worth as much as USD 138 or as little as USD 15. This strikes me as a bit of a raw deal for people who actually play the “Scandinavian” lotto but don’t especially care for the rocker’s music. Perhaps a simpler way to reward them would be to give them cash if they present an old lottery ticket.

Still, at least the concert is happening at a time when it’s not likely to be absolutely freezing. Unlike last year’s concert by Sting and Shaggy, which was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the “No. 6” lottery, and which took place on November 24 on a bitter fall night in Budapest.

The cold didn’t stop tens of thousands of people turning out to see “The Sting”, as my Hungarian friend calls him, and the Jamaican-American “Mr. Boombastic” Shaggy reggae-rock them statues.

Incidentally, I wonder if the organizers of these concerts are working their way through the performers of “All for Love,” the 1993 anthem from the Disney movie of The Three Musketeers that went to number one around the world. This would mean Budapest can look forward to Rod Stewart next.

Enough of this idle speculation. Why should you stake out a place in the crowd at Heroes Square on September 28 to see

Bryan Adams performing live at the Westport Festival, Westport House, County Mayo, Ireland on June 29, 2014. Photo by Paul Keeling/Shutterstock.com Bryan Adams or persuade a friend with an apartment nearby to let you lean out their window?

Heights of Success

Adams was born in 1959 to English parents who emigrated to Canada in the 1950s. His father became a Canadian foreign service diplomat. This perhaps explains Adams Jr.’s own diplomatic skills.

Researching this piece, I found a film on YouTube that explains how Sting, Adams and Rod Stewart came together to record “All for Love”. Apparently, the idea was Adams’. He got Sting to agree to sing with him before telling the singer that.

Stewart was joining them. Apparently, Sting and Stewart hadn’t been the best of showbiz buddies before that. They’d engaged in a spat that resulted in Sting, for some reason, chaining the gates of Stewart’s Beverly Hills mansion shut. Or, at least, that’s Sting’s story.

Mind you, in the official video of the making of “All for Love”, Stewart does insist on calling the legendary Tantric lover String, which is pretty funny.

And Adams places himself between String and Stewart, who never look each other in the eye.

In my own small way, I can attest to Mr. Adams’ charm. He’s a good friend of my best friend. For a time, they were neighbors on the luxury Caribbean hideaway island of Mustique. I was once visiting my friend when Adams popped in.

He, and I kid you not, had come to winkle interior design secrets out of my friend.

Such is the heady rock and roll lifestyle.

My friend introduced me to Adams who, like so many rock and rollers, is tiny. I

happen to be 190 centimeters, so I towered over him. So much so that it felt like I could pick him up like you would a small child. Anyway, Adams was most pleasant.

We talked yoga and meditation, practices he’s a devotee of, and I felt like I’d known him for at least 15 minutes.

“My friend introduced me to Adams who, like so many rock and rollers, is tiny. I happen to be 190 centimeters, so I towered over him. So much so that it felt like I could pick him up like you would a small child.

Anyway, Adams was most pleasant. We talked yoga and meditation, practices he’s a devotee of, and I felt like I’d known him for at least 15 minutes.”

It’s not much of a celebrity anecdote, I know, but we take these things where we can.

Adam’s stature did make me wonder about his rumored dalliance with Princess Diana, who was 176 cm tall.

Although Adams claims to be 173 cm, I don’t believe that’s true.

Successful Songwriter

But I don’t want to trivialize Adams. He’s a remarkably successful songwriter as well as performer. He wrote “All for Love” and, throughout his career, which began in Canada in the late 1970s, has written for other performers who know a hit when they hear one. In 1982, he cowrote three songs for the band Kiss, then at the height of their glory days of daft makeup and heels so high they needed a ladder to climb into them. He’s also written for Celine Dion, Tina Turner and Rod Stewart among others.

Adams is known as a performer who gives it his all in concert: good news for the people of Budapest. But I think it’s his songwriting that made him the world’s highest paid singer in the year August 2018 to August 2019, according to People With Money magazine. He apparently earned USD 96 million.

If you’re wondering how this happened, especially as Adams’ more recent albums haven’t exactly raced up the charts, it’s down to the “Pretty Woman” musical. It was Adams’ idea to turn the perennially popular romcom movie into a musical that’s been a smash on Broadway and is coming to London’s glittering West End in 2020. He wrote the music with long-time collaborator Jim Vallance.

Adams is also a dedicated philanthropist and activist. For his current “Shine A Light” tour he partnered with shipping company DHL to plant a tree for every ticket sold. I wonder if he’s made a similar arrangement with the organizers of the concert in Heroes Square on September 28, based on attendance. If that’s the case, we should all go.

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

Brand Building: 2019 Looking Good Thus Far The fall tasting season has sparked into action, with plenty going on beyond the walls of the Buda Castle, site of the ever-popular Budapest Wine Festival that this year took place on the relatively early date of September 3-6.

ROBERT SMYTH

The big event was preceded by Winelovers River Night Vol.3, a kind of back-toschool cruise on the Budapest boat, which featured the wines of three associations that jointly promote the everyday, easydrinking wines of their respective regions: Villányi REDy, BalatonBor and PH-Érték.

It is great to see so much cooperation between Hungarian winemakers, which flies in the face of the oft-held assumption that Magyar vintners see the wines made by their neighbors as the competition and not the wines coming from the wider world. Building brands and strong regional identity is definitely the way forward.

PH-Érték comprises six vintners/ wineries from the Pannonhalma wine region: Cseri Pincészet, Hangyál Pincészet, Herold Pince, Pécsinger Szőlőbirtok, Tar Pincészet and Pannonhalmi Apátsági Pincészet.

They produce blends based on a 50% backbone of the region’s flagship Riesling grape (Rajnai Rizling in Hungarian, liteally Rhine Riesling, which differentiates it from the unrelated Olaszrizling grape).

The rest can come from any of Olaszrizling, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Királyleányka, as well as the aromatic varieties of Fűszeres Tramini (Gewurtztraminer) and Sauvignon Blanc, although the latter two cannot contribute more than 30% to the blend.

Vintners from the PH-Érték wine association.

PH-Érték is a clever play on words: Érték means “value” and PH refers to Pannonhalma, but can be interpreted as referring to the region, the relatively high PH value coming from its limestone soils, and the cultural values of the region.

Zesty Fresh

All of these tank-made reductive wines from the 2018 vintage (the first year of PH-Érték production) nicely captured the cool, zesty freshness of this predominantly white wine region in Hungary’s northwest.

While Pannonhalmi Apátság (the winery of the monastery of Pannonhalma) is a terrific producer, with a cutting-edge, gravity-fed winery tucked into the hill, under the majestic monastery, the project shows that there are other producers of high quality wine in the region and gives them a wider audience.

A visit to the monastery’s winery in the town of Pannonhalma is a must, but do also visit Nyúl, whose cellar rows evoke a Middle Earth vibe. The upcoming Cseri, which also impresses with its regular Riesling, Hangyál Pincészet and Tar Pincészet can all be found there.

Pannonhalmi Apátság’s wine costs HUF 2,150 from its Budapest shop (Károlyi utca 19, District V), while all the wines can be purchased in a case of six for HUF 10,000 from Bortársaság’s

two shops in Győr (but not, at the time of writing, from Budapest).

As we went to press for this issue, Tamás Illés, sales and marketing director of Pannonhalmi Apátsági Pincészet, said that the winery had harvested some 45% of the grapes, with the harvesting of the early-ripening Fűszeres Tramini and Királyleányka having started two weeks previously, followed by the Sauvignon Blanc.

“We are lucky this year; all the grapes are very healthy and ripe while retaining the acidity,” said Illés. Concerns had grown a few days previously when there had been rot (the winery’s Riesling crop was decimated last year by late-September, rot-inducing rains), but instead the grapes had shrunk and shriveled, making it easier to select the bad grapes out on the sorting table, by an optical sorting machine, as opposed to the more laborious and expensive visual and hand sorting.

Nevertheless, not all of the monastery’s prayers have been answered as it looks like the crop is coming in below par in terms of quantity at 25% down on the previous vintage.

“We expected a bit more, but it’s better than having big bunches with thin skins [that would make less concentrated wines],” said Illés.

‘Great Grapes’

Further west in Sopron, Franz Weninger spoke of “great grapes” in healthy and perfect shape.

“As quality is so high, we will do a lot of whole cluster fermentations,” he said.

Whole bunch fermentation is considered to produce very high quality must and extra layers of complexity and structure, but it is necessary for the stems to also be perfectly ripe, not just the grapes, otherwise undesired green notes creep into the wine.

Not everything is perfect, however, admitted Weninger: he said that the vintage looks low on volume, with a yield of between 30 and 40% lower than last year.

In general, Hungary’s grape growers appear to be a pretty happy bunch regarding the prospects of this year’s vintage.

At a tasting of his newly launched wines from 2017 vintage, Gábor Merfelsz commented that if the fine weather continues at it has done, i.e. warm and dry with little in the way of dangerous downpours, then the southern region of Szekszárd will be in for an outstanding vintage.

One might think that the hot summer might have put severe heat stress on the grapes, and that the grapes might have ripened fast and furiously without the flavors benefitting from some serious hang time. However, the cool and very wet May slowed growth down and the rain was too early to cause serious disease threat to the fledgling grapes. Following that, it was constantly hot, but not too hot.

Doppio 2017 (a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot) was my pick of Merfelsz Pince’s latest releases – a real bargain at HUF 17,700 for a case of six directly from the winery, or HUF 3,700 a bottle from Selection.hu. They may not be indigenous grapes but who cares when the price is so good.

“In 2017 both Cabernet Franc and Merlot performed really well,” said Merfelsz, who is back to making his own wines after having worked with a winemaker for several years.

He likes to harvest his grapes quite late when the acidity isn’t too sharp. The concentration, complexity, and oak use is impressive in Doppio, while the Bikavér is nicely balanced and expressive (expect to pay HUF 15,000 for six). Merfelsz also makes a fine Turán and Nero Selection, but they will each set you back HUF 48,000 for half-a-dozen bottles.

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Budapest Business Journal | September 20 – October 7, 2019

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Budapest Marriott Hotel Opens Redesigned Event Floor The Budapest Marriott has unveiled its new event floor, following some two months of renovation work, with the Bauhaus and Cubisminspired ballrooms, meeting rooms, and coffee break places matching the hotel’s new style, which has already been implemented in the redesign of the ground-floor Liz & Chain lounge bar and the DNB Budapest restaurant.

the ground-floor catering establishments with marble and wood in the focus.

“With the redesign of our hotel, we aimed to create interiors that are inspiring and exciting yet provide an exceptional venue for relaxation,” says Arne Klehn, general manager of the Budapest Marriott Hotel.

“I can proudly say that we have succeeded: the almost 150 people working in the implementation team did an exceptional job and we are more than satisfied with the results.”

Apart from the Studio Kitchen, the entire floor has been completely redesigned and renewed. The largest of the rooms is the Grand Budapest Ballroom, which continues to offer a breathtaking view of both the Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge, and which covers 614 sqm. It is capable of hosting

650 people

In front of the Grand Budapest Ballroom, the hotel has added a special coffee break area in what was formerly an unutilized empty space. The area includes an extendable table as well as an induction stovetop to keep meals served with the coffee warm.

Klehn adds that the last large-scale redesign of the event floor was conducted more than a decade ago and that it was not easy to find companies to implement the hotel’s cutting-edge vision for its 21st century upgrade.

The audiovisual services were also renewed, with Special Effects Zrt. providing them. The general manager argued that outsourcing the audiovisual services was necessary and beneficial in keeping up-to-date with the newest technological developments.

The Budapest Marriott Hotel was voted Business Hotel of the Year in

János Parti (left) and Arne Klehn.

June. It says it plans to build on this success by remaining one of the most popular event venues in the whole city, for both professionals and private gatherings.

with a theater-style seating configuration.

On the other side of the floor is the second-largest Liz Ballroom, facing Erzsébet híd and Gellérthegy, which is able to host 350 people. The hotel has added high tables in the foyer areas of all rooms, in order to ensure that events run smoothly. The completion of the floor also marks the end of Marriott Hotel Budapest’s modernization project, which was launched one-and-a-half-year ago.

Fresh Colors

BENCE GAÁL

One of the features of the now 25-yearold Marriott’s 1,595 sqm event floor, besides the 11 event rooms of various sizes, is the addition of the Studio Kitchen, which offers an open kitchen and a place to have coffee, breakfast, or even a luncheon. The design and style of the room is, once again, reminiscent of

Smaller meeting rooms have been given a brand new color palette, and feature tailor-made art by the Budapest-born Hungarian visual artist Péter SzabóLencz, better known as Petyka. He works as an abstract painter and graphic artist, but also specializes in custom installation painting, murals and graphics. New features for the smaller meeting rooms also include wardrobes and coffee stations.

Grand Budapest Ballroom

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