First Brokers Rating: Third Round

Eleven companies, taking the leadership positions on the market of St. Petersburg commercial property brokerage market – ARIN, ASTERA (part of BNP Paribas Real Estate affiliate network), BestЪ, Commercial Real Estate, East Real, Colliers International, GVA Sawyer, Jones Lang LaSalle, Knight Frank, Maris (member of the CBRE affiliate network), S. A. Ricci – St. Petersburg, TELLUS GROUP – participated in the First Brokers Rating 2012. Overall the brokers leased and sold 429,116.46 sq.m of office, retail and storage space, less than a year earlier (604,755 sq.m) and in 2010 (512,028 sq.m).

In compiling the First Brokers Rating 2012 only let and sold premises were taken into account in three market sectors – business centers in classes A, B (including B+) and C, shopping and mixed-use complexes with areas not less than 1500 sq.m, warehouse and logistics terminals from C to A classes (deals had to be closed from January 1 to December 31 of 2012, inclusive). In ranking the properties by classes the data of business center certification developed by the Guild of Property Managers and Developers were used.

Additional points for transaction analysis were included to improve the quality of information and to exclude disputed deals from the list. Most often this is confidential information about tenants, let properties, occupied space and the dates of lease conclusion.

The rating does not include the lease and sale deals for the ground floors of apartment buildings (so called built-in premises), street-retail premises and those accommodated in unclassified properties (administrative, public and other buildings that are not assigned any class, graded lower than C, or have the area of less than 1500 sq.m).

The rating does not include lease prolongation transactions to the earlier occupied premises, except in cases, when the occupied space is enlarged (in the latter instance only new rentable space was taken into account).

Business centers

Maris/CBRE became an absolute leader in terms of office space brokerage in St. Petersburg business centers of classes A, B and C in 2012. Last year the company sold and let 26,370.6 sq.m (33 transactions) of office space. Colliers Int. follows next with 22,240 sq.m in 26 transactions; Jones Lang LaSalle (20,955 sq.m, 24 transactions) closes the trio of most successful brokers. The positions of St. Petersburg brokers by segments are the following. Colliers Int. led and sold 17,988 sq.m in class A (20 transactions), followed by Jones Lang LaSalle that brokered 16,923.1 sq.m (11 transactions including a record deal whereby a 7307‑sqm office unit was sold). Maris/CBRE brokered 14,811 sq.m (8 transactions) of high-end office space, thus closing the first trio.

The 2012 leader in class B is BestЪ. Commercial Real Estate that let 8370.6 sq.m (75 transactions) of office space. In addition, the company brokered a sale transaction whereby another 4977 sq.m were sold in a business center of this class.

Knight Frank is the leader for class C in 2012 – the company brokered 2300 sq.m in 3 transactions. Following next is ASTERA that let 2150 sq.m in 4 transactions, by Maris/CBRE with 1951.4 sq.m (3 transactions). Overall 11 brokerage companies participating in the rating let and sold 140,047.72 sq.m of office space (252 transactions) – more than a year earlier (86,000 sq.m, 244 transactions), but less than in 2010, when the given parameter exceeded 171,000 sq.m (648 transactions) of office space.

Among the properties filled by brokers in 2012 are business centers Saint Petersburg Plaza (4 Malookhtinsky drive, lit. A), LightHouse (12 Pevchesky per.), Piramida (3 Constitution Square, lit. A), Aeroportcity (6 Startovaya St), Renaissance Forum (1 Ligovsky Ave.), Nekrasova 14 (14 Nekrasov St), Sinop (22 Sinopskaya nab.), Marvel (11 Sedov St), Lidval (3–5 Bol. Morskaya St), Universe (7–11 Universitetskaya nab.) and others.

Shopping centers

Colliers International was last year’s leader in the retail segment – the company let out 55,612.72 sq.m of retail space (247 transactions). The second position with 19,563.27 sq.m (81 deals) is taken by Jones Lang LaSalle. The trio is closed by ASTERA that brokered 13,855.8 sq.m in 37 transactions.

Overall 11 brokerage companies participating in the rating rented out and sold 115,620.74 sq.m (420 transactions) in St. Petersburg’s shopping centers. A year earlier this parameter stood at 282,158 sq.m (309 transactions) and in 2010 – at 161,942 sq.m (646 transactions).

The main volume of lease transactions completed in 2012 fell to the share of such properties as SEC Piterland (72 Primorsky pr.), Akadem Park (41B Grazhdansky pr.), Zhemchuzhnaya plaza (47 Petergofskoe sh.), Tolstoy Square (9 Lev Tolstoy St), London Mall (3 Kollontai St), RIO (intersection of Salov/Belgradskaya/Fucik streets), Elektra (139 Moskovsky pr.), and others.

Warehouse complexes

Colliers International was a leader of 2012 in St. Petersburg in warehouse market. Last year the company let out 22,195 sq.m of storage space (5 transactions) and consulted another transaction for the purchase of 40,000 sq. m. As a result the total parameter of Colliers International came to 62,195 sq. m.

The second position in the storage space rating, for the second year in a row, is taken by Knight Frank (46,600 sq.m, 7 transactions). The trio is closed by ASTERA that helped the owners sell and let 19,133.3 sq.m (7 transactions).

Overall 11 brokerage companies participating in the rating let out and sold 172,579.4 sq.m of storage space (38 transactions). In 2011 this parameter was 236,377 sq.m (45 transactions) and in 2010–178,562 sq.m (91 transactions).