Wizz Air buys its Budapest office building

Budget airline Wizz Air has announced it is purchasing the Budapest office building where it has leased space for the past two years, marking one of Hungary’s largest owner-occupier property transactions in recent times and signalling long-term confidence in the Hungarian market.

The airline will acquire the entire Millennium Tower I southern tower, where it currently rents office space, with the aim of establishing an expandable, fully owned headquarters in Budapest. The deal represents a strategic shift for the carrier, which has operated its international headquarters from Hungary for more than 22 years.

Strategic investment in technology hub

Wizz Air’s Budapest base serves as the nerve centre for its entire network operations and houses its finance, accounting, and IT development divisions. Several hundred software engineers work in the Hungarian capital developing and innovating the airline’s digital systems.

The company had 8,200 square metres of office space custom-fitted in Millennium Tower I during the second quarter of 2024. The building purchase will enable further expansion, according to the airline’s statement released on Monday.

“The acquisition of the office building allows Wizz Air to expand further,” the company said, adding that its goal is to build infrastructure suited to the needs of a technology- and innovation-driven airline.

CA Immo exits Hungarian market

The seller, Vienna-based CA Immo, announced the sale as another step in its gradual withdrawal from the Hungarian property market. The transaction was facilitated by Newmark VLK Hungary, which provided strategic advisory services, technical due diligence, negotiation support, and comprehensive tenant representation.

According to Newmark VLK, the deal represents one of the largest recent owner-occupier office transactions in Hungary and signals long-term confidence in the domestic market.

The 18,800-square-metre office building, completed in 2006, forms part of the Millennium Towers office park situated along the Danube banks and surrounded by green parkland. The property offers approximately 270 parking spaces and was 87 per cent occupied as of November 2025, with a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of seven years and annualised in-place gross rental income of around €3.1 million.

Part of strategic portfolio shift

Keegan Viscius, CEO of CA Immo, explained the rationale behind the sale: “Based on market fundamentals and attractive alternative capital allocation options, we decided to reclassify Hungary to a non-core market in 2023. This transaction is a further step in implementing our strategic capital rotation programme and on the way to exiting the Hungarian market.”

Viscius noted that proceeds from the sale may be deployed in various ways, including general corporate purposes, investment in the company’s prime portfolio, debt repayment, share buybacks, and external investment opportunities.

Hedwig Höfler, Group Head of Investment Management at CA Immo, welcomed the return of market activity: “After a period of extremely low transaction activity in 2023 and 2024, the Budapest investment market has caught up strongly in 2025. With three sales last year – the last of which has now been completed – we can confirm this positive market trend and are confident that our quality portfolio will attract further investors.”

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Long-term commitment to Budapest

For Wizz Air, the purchase represents a significant vote of confidence in Hungary’s future as a technology and business hub. The airline has maintained its international headquarters in Budapest since its founding, overseeing operations across its extensive European, Middle Eastern, and North African network from the Hungarian capital.

The investment in property ownership rather than continued leasing suggests the carrier anticipates substantial long-term growth in its Budapest-based operations, particularly in technology development and digital innovation.

As of 30 September 2025, CA Immo’s Hungarian portfolio consisted of six office buildings in Budapest with total lettable area of around 125,000 square metres and a book value of approximately €246 million. All Hungarian buildings hold BREEAM Very Good or LEED Gold sustainability certification.

The sale aligns with CA Immo’s long-term investment strategy of focusing on large, high-quality Class A office properties in prime inner-city locations, whilst divesting assets that don’t correspond to its core business in terms of asset class, location, building quality, age, or value creation potential.

CERHA HEMPEL Rechtsanwälte and CBRE advised CA Immo on the transaction.

As we wrote earlier, strategy can change, Wizz Air eyes flights to America