Robinsons Land adds BPO office supply in Cebu

Capitalizing on the continuous growth of the Cebu office market, Robinsons Land Corp. is integrating a 9,000-square-meter BPO office space in its flagship development in the so-called Queen City of the South, the Robinsons Galleria Cebu.

Demand for office properties in Cebu City has grown by more than 57 percent since 2013, driven mainly by the BPO market, says Dom Andaya, Colliers International Associate Director for Office Services Tenant Representation.

Global real estate services firm Colliers International is Robinsons Land’s sole leasing agent for the Cebu BPO office spaces.

Andaya said the rise in office demand in Cebu is due to a combination of organic economic growth and the arrival of new BPO and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) locators.
Tholons, a global outsourcing advisory firm, has placed Cebu City as the eighth best BPO destination in the world.

Colliers’ Andaya denied presumptions of the Cebu office market nearing saturation.
Previously, KMC Mag Group, another global real estate services firm, reported that overall vacancy rate across all districts in Cebu dipped to 2 percent in the second quarter of 2015.

The reason, KMC Mag Group pointed out, is the solid take-up of 26,808-square-meter and limited supply, with only 8,264 square meters of leasable space introduced to the market in the second quarter.

Another real estate service firm, CBRE Philippines, had seen Cebu office space supply to rise in the coming years, as local and international developers continue to build office buildings in the region.

CBRE has expected Metro Cebu to have a new supply of office space this year of about 95,000 square meters, care of major developers like Megaworld, Ayala Land, Robinsons Land, and Cebu Landmasters.

CBRE has forecast that some 102,000 square meters of office space would go on line in 2016, with the completion of the BPI Cebu Corporate Center, Pacific World Tower, ACC Corporate Center, and Filinvest IT Park Tower, and the Philam Life Center Cebu.

“Overall, the Cebu office market is seen to be vibrant, as more BPO companies are planning to expand and relocate in the provinces,” CBRE said in a 2016 industry forecast report.

“In terms of the overall market, Cebu now accounts for 9 percent of the national demand, increasing market share by 5 percent since 2013,” Colliers’ Andaya, meanwhile, said.

Andaya said more developments are expected to grace Cebu’s office market in the next six months to “augment the growing need for space in the Queen City of the South.”

For one, Andaya cited, Robinsons Galleria Cebu’s BPO office spaces are set to be ready for turn over by March 2016.

source: http://goo.gl/dpterp