According to analysts interviewed by BNS, after the British bank Barclays decided to withdraw from Lithuania and a free space appeared in the office building "Green Hall" in Vilnius, it would be rented out quickly.
Real estate companiesNewsec Mindaugas Kulbokas, head of Advisers LT's research and analysis group, says that the vacated premises would not have any effect on the capital's office market.
"We have a total of 600 sq. meters in the context of the Vilnius office market, the vacancy would not have a significant impact. Looking at it from the other side, if someone were to think of looking for an office today, they wouldn't find it, because the vacancy rate in Vilnius is very low. And (Green Hall - BNS) is equipped and it is possible to agree on that area very quickly. I think it would be an instant consumption of the area," he told BNS.
According to M. Kulbok, it is likely that these areas would be filled by the increasingly expanding Scandinavian capital companies in Lithuania.
"With Barclays, we discovered that Lithuania can provide services to corporations of this level and that people are ready for it. I don't believe that after the exit of such companies, others will not come in their place, and it is most likely that those others will be from Scandinavia", he commented.
According to Sandra Jovaisaitė, head of the Mediation Department of the real estate services company "Colliers International Advisers", out of approximately 7 thousand sq. meters of space that Barcalys leases in the Green Hall office building, the vacant space could be just a thousand square meters or a little more.
"We estimate that around 600 jobs will remain at Green Hall, with 460 staff relocating and 140 already working there." They rent about 7 thousand. sq. meters and that balance will be given maybe or not depending on the floor area. This will not have any impact on the market, because there is a lack of land," she told BNS.
According to S. Jovaišaitė, some service centers operating in Lithuania are currently planning expansion.
"We don't communicate with all service centers, but a significant part are our customers. They are now growing and we have a problem with them finding additional rental space, especially in the central city area," she said.
Urban Inventors, a subsidiary of the SBA concern that manages the Green Hall building, did not specify how much space Green Hall currently leases to Barclays. The representatives of the concern said that they could not yet comment on what changes will take place after the tenant leaves.
At that time, Marian Andrade Gonzalez, the head of Barclays operations center in Lithuania, said that the center will operate in the Green Hall building until the 2020s, and the information technology company HCL Technologies, which is taking over part of its employees and operations, is consulting with the owners of the building about the possibility of re-leasing the premises.
Barclays confirmed on Tuesday that it intends to transfer about 460 jobs to HCL Technologies operating in Vilnius.
The remaining approximately 260 jobs will be eliminated, offering severance pay. About 80 more jobs are temporarily suspended, Barclays reported to BNS. The company currently employs about 800 employees.
The Barclays service center rented 4 thousand in the Gama office building. sq. meters area.
More than 10 thousand sq. m office building "Green Hall" on Upės Street was completed in 2009. The concern invested 15 million in it. euros.
