British Council expands in Bucharest with new location within downtown historical villa

The British Council branch in Bucharest, currently located on Calea Dorobantilor downtown in the Romanian capital, has expanded with a new location. The council will teach English in new classes arranged in a historical villa located downtown Bucharest. The building, located on Mendeleev street and recently revamped, will host British Council's secondary headquarters on some 300 sqm. The current owner, a Romanian investor, bought the villa from in 2011 and invested EUR 700,000 in renovation and restoration works. In this transaction, ESOP Consulting represented the owner and CBRE represented the tenant. The villa on Mendeleev street was bought by the family of professor Marin N. Biciulescu, in 1925, and then rented to merchants who had shops on the ground floor, and to individuals who lived in the top floors. Before Biciulescu, the property belonged to Ignatz Roller, a well-known merchant at that time, who was distributing Longines watches and jewelries in Romania, and had members of the royal house among his clients. In Romania, the British Council has branches in Iasi and Cluj. The Council has been working in the country as early as 1938. It currently provides English courses, teacher training courses, and it administers English language certificates - IELTS and Cambridge, Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com