FRED fund’s partner Riho Unt had the honour to speak at CBRE Baltics’s conference BALTIC RETAIL SYMPOSIUM 2023. Here’s the summary of his performance.

The new generation concept in real estate – stock-office – is an opportunity to triumph the business environment in the age where e-commerce volumes are skyrocketing. Here's how:

● Online sales are becoming an increasingly important part of the retail ecosystem and therefore, retailers, couriers and third-party logistics must promise to deliver goods as quickly as possible. To facilitate this process, suitably located multifunctional buildings are required. Stock-office facilities that are specifically designed to support smaller scale operations and are in well-exposed areas perfectly support businesses in achieving that goal.

Their great strength also lies in easy access to public transportation and major junctions. Stock-office premises also feature three-in-one functionality and have higher quality office fit-out than typical warehouse complexes. Main characteristics of these modern buildings include smaller units, office space up to 20–30% of total GLA, dedicated parking spaces for employees and clients, higher density docks and drive-in gates.

● In 2022, 37 new stock-office projects were completed in Baltic states (+50% YoY) providing the market with 158k m2 new GLA (+62% YoY). At the end of 2022, the total volume of stock-office spaces reached 592k m2. This data leaves no doubt that the stock-office concept is a perfect match to the digitalizing commerce environment.

● Stock-offices are suitable not only for the Baltic market but could be attractive in every region of Europe noticing significant growth in e-commerce activity. Good example here is Poland, one of the fastest developing e-commerce markets in Europe, where stock-office concept in the 3in1 form was introduced in 2018/19.

A stock-office premise in Poland is called a SBU – small business unit. The SBU niche is currently growing on its attractiveness, experiencing great demand and are highly desired by tenants from the most prospective industries. In addition, the concept has been further developed to more prestigious facilities with three types of A-class interior finishes.