Ness Technologies (Nasdaq: NSTC) has renewed its lease for the third time for 20,000 sq.m. of office space in Tel Aviv's Kiryat Atidim, at $13.50 per sq.m. per month, plus management fees of $3.50 per sq.m. Ness has occupied the premises for 20 years. The company will also lease 1,000 parking spaces at $100 per space per month. Altogether, Ness will pay $5.3 million a year in rent.
Ness decided not to move to another high-tech park, partly because of the heavy investment in finishing its present premises, and because of the cost of moving and adapting new premises to its needs.
A "Globes" survey of office space in Ramat Hahayal in Tel Aviv found that rent had fallen by an average of 30%, compared with previous leases of $16 per sq.m. per month. Rent in the area has stabilized at $10-12 per sq.m. per month in the past year, after falling to $7-8 per sq.m. per month in 2002-2003. Purchase prices for fully finished office space in the area area around $1,500-1,700 per sq.m. Very few sales were made in the area in the past year.
Rad-Bynet Assets and Services, owned Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel, is a major landowner in Ramat Hahayal. It is building the 70,000-sq.m. Ziv Towers and an additional 30,000-sq.m. in the Or Towers. It also owns 10,000-sq.m. of commercial space nearby.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 16, 2005