“We were seeking an office which would best match our growing company’s interests, would be in a strategically convenient location, and the business centre’s developers would care for sustainability and the people working in it. BLC offers optimal space across the entire floor, which will be dedicated solely to our team, and meanwhile, the work and common space solutions implemented in the business centre itself ensure a healthy and motivational working environment. Furthermore, through its windows you can see the lively renewed Vienybė Square and a panorama of Kaunas,” says Asta Pukaitė-Kajokė, the head of YNOT Media.
“Due to our company’s rapid growth and successful operations, we naturally outgrew the office we had in the city centre, and so the need arose to seek more convenience for the business. We sought a business centre, which not only offered flexible conditions and a variety of services for both the company and our staff as well as convenient car parking in an underground lot but also was in line with our company’s values and philosophy, as well as having a unique spirit and style. BLC was the best match for our expectations,” states Tomas Mačernis, the head of Ekomlita.
The companies plan to move into their new offices in early spring 2021.
“The coronavirus pandemic did not freeze the office market in Kaunas. During the lockdown, numerous people worked from home, but potential tenants are actively inquiring regarding BLC’s spaces and current clients are also expanding their offices. Currently, around 70 per cent of the BLC business centre’s 20,000 square metres have been rented out, and in terms of the remaining space, we are currently in negotiations with several local and international companies which are seeking from several hundred to more than a thousand square metres of office space,” explains Marius Prieskenis, the project head for SBA Group’s Urban Inventors Commerce Section.
The real estate consultancy Real Game, which acted as an intermediary for the tenancy contracts with YNOT Media and Ekomlita, notes that the office market in Kaunas remains active.
“During the pandemic, companies are reviewing their development plans and evaluate their capacities to move into a new office more carefully. The companies hope that during the pandemic, they can negotiate better tenancy conditions and receive extra services, and while many staff members are currently working from home, the emergence of a vaccine from the coronavirus may gradually return public life and businesses to normalcy. This means that employees longing for live human interaction will be interested in returning to the offices,” says Real Game partner Ernestas Adomaitis.
Completed last year, the modern office centre BLC2 in Kaunas is seeking Lithuania’s first Fitwell staff and building health certification. This would be the first office building whose common spaces dedicate attention to people’s well-being.
This is particularly relevant during the pandemic when the need for working at the office hasn’t diminished, but concern over working conditions and safety is elevated. The BLC business centre has implemented solutions which help improve staff well-being and reduce the likelihood of illness: physical activity is encouraged through various exercise initiatives, and the choice of healthy foods is expanded. Conditions are also created to work on a roof terrace with an exceptional view of the renewed Vienybė Square, and a panorama of Kaunas city.
The BLC business centre in Kaunas is located next to the Vienybė Square which has been renewed by SBA Group. The centre itself is being developed by the company Urban Inventors, which administrates the business valley Green Hall in Vilnius. SBA’s investment in BLC2 and Vienybė Square reaches around 40 million euros.
YNOT Media is a digital advertising agency, which specialises in complex internet marketing, e-retail, and advertising technologies.
Ekomlita is a smart device manufacturing and e-retail company which operates worldwide.
The SBA business group is one of the country’s largest. It includes the real estate innovation company Urban Inventors, which is developing the business valley Green Hall in Vilnius, and the BLC2 business centre in Kaunas. It also includes the investment management company Capitalica Asset Management, which manages the Kaunas-based business centre Kauno Dokas, Vilnius’ 135 and the modern office complex Verde in Riga’s Skanste area next to the city centre. The SBA furniture manufacturing group is comprised of SBA Baldų Kompanija, which manages Klaipėdos Baldai, Šilutės Baldai, Germanika, Visagino Linija, Mebelain and also Kauno Baldai. The SBA textile sector is comprised of Utenos Trikotažas, as well as Šatrija and Mrija.
