The first Verde building is now more than 60% leased out - KPMG in Latvia joins the community
Proving the dynamically growing demand for sustainable Class A offices in Latvia, the international professional services provider, KPMG in Latvia, has become the third anchor tenant in Riga’s greenest office complex, Verde. It is not only this year’s largest office lease transaction in the Latvian capital, but also a significant turning point in the development of Verde – even though the construction works on the complex are still ongoing, the whole development is nearly 50% leased.
KPMG in Latvia is one of the largest professional service providers in the Baltic states, offering audit, taxation, legal, business consultations, data and analytics, cyber-security, ESG and other consultancy services. With the company’s team constantly growing, a decision has been made to move to nearly 3000 m2 of space in the new Verde premises. This is twice the size of KPMG's existing office and will be located on the 7th and 8th floors of building A. The current KPMG in Latvia team of 250 people, including the office of sworn advocates KPMG Law, KPMG Lighthouse, the Centre of Excellence for Data, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, established in 2021, and KPMG Cyber Security Centre specialists will move to the Verde office.
“When choosing a new office for the growing KPMG in Latvia team, two aspects were important for us. First, adapting to today’s flexible working style, to develop the working environment in a way that promotes mutual cooperation and makes our team feel good both physically and emotionally. This is why we have chosen the spacious and modern Verde premises which will help us achieve that. Second, it is important for us that the building is being built responsibly – thinking about minimizing environmental pollution and considering the energy efficiency solutions that are being used there,” said Armine Movsisjana, Managing Partner at KPMG in Latvia.
“Obvious progress intertwines the growth of Verde. Every day our office complex becomes more noticeable – lamella blinds, promoting energy efficiency, have been placed on the facade of building A, and work on the interior is underway. Meanwhile, construction of building B is ahead of schedule, and as a result, six stories have already been built above the ground. Simultaneously, there is also an active process in attracting tenants which now resulted in cooperation between us and KPMG in Latvia. I am very happy that such a respectable company has become our long-term customer, proving that the care of modern employers for the wellbeing of their employees goes hand in hand with their business growth,” said Iveta Lace, Verde Commercial Director.
Ēriks Bergmans, Colliers Baltics Partner and Head of Agency said: “This transaction once again proves the interest of companies in a high-quality working environment, energy efficiency of buildings and a sustainable approach. Despite global challenges, the activity of the office market is similar to the previous years, and this is the biggest office lease transaction so far in 2022 in Riga.”
As reported, Latvia’s leading real estate agency Colliers is the exclusive leasing representative of the Verde office complex. The office complex’s first anchor tenant is Swiss telecommunications provider and software developer Swisscom, and the second anchor tenant – financial technologies company Decta. The Verde office complex, developed by Capitalica Asset Management, is being built under the leadership of Notus Developers, a subsidiary of SBA Group. The project’s general contractor is LLC Velve. Total investment in the VERDE office is planned at more than EUR 65 million, and it will be the first project implemented by Capitalica Asset Management in Latvia.