Colliers International advised on the sale of Liberty Technology Park office complex, owned by Fribourg Development in Cluj-Napoca, one of Romania’s most important regional real estate hubs. Colliers International also acted as advisor in obtaining financing for the acquisition, where the buyer was White Star Real Estate and its joint venture partner, the endowment fund of a top private university in the USA.
The partnership between a real estate player and an educational institution is common practice in other Western countries, but the acquisition of the offices in Cluj represents a unique transaction for the Romanian market, as it brings a change in the pattern of present investors, laying out a pioneering investment case.
Liberty represents 18,000 square metres of former industrial buildings, redeveloped over the last six years by Fribourg into a modern, industrial feel office park. The technology park comprises five Class A office buildings, BREEAM certified with innovative, eco-friendly and energy efficient technologies, with an additional 3 hectares of land for further development.
Located in the northern part of the city, Liberty Technology Park enjoys the presence of internationally renowned IT&C and R&D tenants, such as Siemens, IBM, Arvato and Altran. In addition, the Spherik Accelerator was launched here, which strives to improve the local start-up community and help it grow faster internationally.
About White Star Real Estate
The buyer, White Star Real Estate, is a regional real estate developer and asset and property manager with offices across the CEE in Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest and Moscow.
The company has built over 50 projects since 1997, including landmark office buildings, warehouses, logistics parks and other industrial projects, retail, mixed-use concepts and residential developments, and currently manages over 2.4 million sqm of commercial properties for their clients.
White Star has been present in Romania since 2006, its most prominent project being Lakeview, a 25,000 sqm class A office building.
Second deal for Colliers International in Cluj
The sale of Liberty Technology Park marks Colliers International’s second office investment deal in Cluj-Napoca. The company also advised on the sale of Maestro Business Center office building last year, making Colliers International the first international agency to advise an office transaction in a regional city of Romania.
The acquisition was made by First Property Group, a UK investment fund, and it also changed the investment scene in a city then dominated by local capital.