According to DTZ’s latest report – „Outsourcing sector in key CEE markets” – the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are systematically gaining popularity as a place to invest in new outsourcing centers. Factors favoring this decision are such as access to qualified personnel, lower operating costs and favorable location in close proximity to the Western European markets.
Over the past 10 years, the outsourcing sector in Central and Eastern Europe noted an increase in the investment value by approx. 20% per year. The region itself systematically gained popularity as a place to locate new investments. Currently in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania operate approx. 1 000 shared service centers that employ more than a quarter million of employees. These companies occupy 3 000 000 sq m of office space which constitute approx. 20% of the total stock of modern office space in these countries. It is estimated that the value of the lease agreements which were signed by the outsourcing sector companies will be approx. 900 million euros by the end of 2014.
Among the main factors which encourage multinational corporations to invest in the region are easy access to qualified personnel, the relatively low cost of labor and doing business, improving the business environment in the countries of the region and increasing the supply of modern office space. An important factor is the proximity to the developed markets of Western Europe and the lack of cultural barriers that are conductive to attracting investment nearshore type. According to DTZ’s forecasts, in the coming years these factors will effectively attract further investments in the outsourcing sector to countries in the region and maintain the current growth in the sector. Over the next 2-3 years the employment in the sector in Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary should increase to approx. 360 thousand employees which will result in demand for further 1,2 million sq m of new office space until 2016 and approx. 3,9 million sq m to 2020.
We expect that in the coming years more and more newly opened centers will provide services with higher added value and requiring personnel with higher qualifications. On one hand this trend will lead towards strengthening the position and maturity of the current popular locations such as Kraków, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and on the other hand, will lead to the emergence of investments in other regional cities or in countries such as Romania and Bulgaria due to the gradual increase in costs of labor and increasing competition in the largest outsourcing centers – says Kamila Wykrota, Head of Consulting and Research, DTZ.
dostarczył infoWire.pl
