UTG company continues to study the state of the commercial real estate market in Ukraine. The war, the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine have led to a decrease in the income of most office real estate management companies while maintaining obligations to counterparties, the payroll fund, tax deductions, etc. Given the increase in the cost of energy, the increase in utility bills due to the need to purchase generators or the loss of electricity or working time due to alarms, as well as OPEX due to the increase in vacancy and the distribution of operating payments to a smaller number of operators, the burden on tenants has increased. But the business is gradually adapting, and rental rates have stopped declining for the first time since the start of the war. According to UTG company analysts, in July 2025, rent per 1 m2 cost in class “A” = $17.2, in class “B” = $11.9, in class “C” = $9.8 (excluding VAT, OPEX, KP, BOMA)

Although the trend towards savings continues – tenants optimize the occupied space, consider offers in areas remote from the center, transfer employees from rented premises to their own administrative real estate. The practice of men working from home, which began during the coronavirus, has now deepened and spread due to the threat of mobilization by TAC employees. Therefore, the weighted average vacancy rate in Kyiv business centers as of mid-2025 is: “A” = 28.2%, “B” = 20.5%, “C” = 14.2%.

The office real estate market is also negatively affected by the fact that the number of international companies and their representative offices (the main consumers of professional office real estate) represented in Ukraine continues to decline. Most of the international financial institutions that left Ukraine or significantly reduced their administrative staff after the 2008 global economic crisis never returned to the country. And the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in 2014-2015 led to the beginning of a mass outflow of Russian companies and their final closure in 2022-2023, despite attempts to re-register these companies as Ukrainian or European legal entities.

Unfortunately, due to military actions and physical threats to employees, most countries of the world have put Ukraine on pause in entering the market of new brands, and existing representative offices are being reduced or relocated.

Nevertheless, today Ukraine is becoming a real testing ground for know-how and advanced modern weapons systems, and global companies – giants in the field of defense industry are launching or negotiating the opening of joint production facilities, factories, research centers, administrative and office offices in the country. Among such examples: Germany (Rheinmetall, KMW companies), Turkey (Baykar), Norway (Kongsberg), Latvia (Atlas Aerospace), Great Britain (BAE Systems), the USA (Northrop Grumman), Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and many other countries that are actively involved in this process. They are opening local offices and creating new jobs. Also, the loyalty of the international community to Ukraine is preserved, and the possible accession to NATO and the EU will probably lead to the emergence and development of new international organizations, enterprises, brands in the country, especially those that have closed and completely left the territory of the Russian Federation.

Number of international companies in dynamics 2009-2024, units