Sunday, 9 November 2025
Bratislava’s office market entered 2025 with renewed momentum. Leasing activity has improved after a quieter 2023–2024 cycle, and large contracts — some of them among the biggest in years — were concluded in the first months of the year. Yet despite these positive fundamentals, the market continues to struggle with one issue that puts it at a disadvantage compared to other capital city markets across CEE: most of the major leases are reported without naming the tenants involved.
Market data from leading real estate advisors confirm that sizeable contracts were signed in early 2025, including a deal of around 17,000 sq m in the city centre and several transactions in the 5,000–8,000 sq m range. These deals helped lift total take-up and signalled that occupiers are willing to commit to space in Bratislava. However, many of these agreements are not publicly attributed to specific companies. Instead, announcements typically list the size of the transaction, the submarket, and whether it was a renewal or new lease — but leave out who actually signed.
This habit stands in contrast to leasing disclosures in Warsaw, Prague or Budapest, where the names of tenants in major deals are often released as part of the marketing of the building and the city. For institutional investors, such transparency matters. When tenant information is public, it is easier to benchmark comparable leases, understand the depth of demand by business sector, and assess how innovative or future-proof the local office market is.
In Bratislava, many of the largest deals are renegotiations rather than new entries, according to agency research. Renewals are a normal part of any market, but when they dominate the data — and when their tenants remain anonymous — the picture that reaches investors is incomplete. Without knowing who is committing to buildings, the market loses an opportunity to showcase success stories and attract new capital.
This lack of visibility also limits the ability of developers to market new projects. In core markets across the region, announcing a major anchor tenant often unlocks further leasing traction. In Slovakia, non-disclosure makes it harder to build momentum, even for high-quality or ESG-focused schemes.
The irony is that Bratislava has plenty to promote. Vacancy in prime locations remains competitive, developers are repositioning older buildings toward energy-efficient standards, and the city’s location between Vienna and Budapest gives it a strong regional advantage. But those strengths are overshadowed when the market does not celebrate — or even name — some of its most significant occupiers.
Greater transparency does not require revealing commercially sensitive terms. Simply releasing the identity of tenants signing the largest leases would bring Bratislava in line with its regional peers. It would enable brokers and landlords to demonstrate where real demand is coming from and give investors the clarity they expect when evaluating new markets.
Slovakia is at a turning point. Capital is increasingly selective, competition among CEE cities is rising, and ESG-driven redevelopment is forcing older buildings to justify reinvestment. Tenant transparency is a low-cost, high-impact lever to demonstrate market confidence.
Bratislava has real momentum. It now needs to show the world who is behind it.
Source: CIJ EUROPE Analysis Team
