Spain Zara Lands In Bulgaria 21/03/2008
The Spanish apparel brand Zara has already rented a 1,800 square meter unit in the future Carrefour mall in Sofia, to be located in Tsarigradsko Chausse Blvd. The retail chain will enter the Bulgarian market directly through its Spanish manufacturer Inditex, David Davidov, manager business space in Colliers consultants, said in an interview with Kapital weekly. The mall is expected to open in the second half of 2009. Currently, Zara does not have a store in Bulgaria, but its old collections are sold through the Z Outlet chain of stores in the country. Carrefour mall, sold to Greek private property fund Assos Capital at the weekend, will also host the first store of large Greek chain Electroniki, specialized in electronics, hi tech and electrical appliances. The Greek book and music... more

Laxey Partners Acquires A Larger Share In A Bulgarian Fund 14/03/2008
Laxey Partners investment company increased its stake in the London Stock Exchange-listed Bulgarian Land Development Plc (BLD) investment fund by purchasing 2.11 million shares, totalling 5.75 million shares or 14.37 per cent, fund’s officials told investor.bg. BLD representatives were not available for a comment. As previously reported, Laxey Partners has recently announced that it is considering the establishment of a fund, aimed at investing 660 million euro in undervalued companies and property funds across Europe. The new fund, Terra Catalyst, was listed on the alternative investment market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) earlier this week. Its IPO was the largest IPO on the LSE since the beginning of the year, according to some publications. London-based investment... more

City Centre Sofia For Sale 01/05/2008
Investment fund Equest Balkan Properties plc (EBP) was considering the sale of the first shopping mall in Bulgaria, City Centre Sofia, Investor.bg quoted Naomi Kora, relations manager for the fund’s investors, on May 1 2008. Furthermore EBP was also considering the sale of Serdika Forum, former Serdika hotel in downtown Sofia at Vassil Levski monument, and another project in Belgrade. According to Investor.bg EBP was going to use the evaluation done by CBRE consultancy company, which evaluated EBP’s portfolio of 28 real estates in Bulgaria at 152 million euro. In total EBP’s portfolio was estimated by CBRE at 373.5 million euro. City Center Sofia was the biggest asset of EBP in Bulgaria, the fund told Investor.bg. The sale was going to improve EBP’s position on the market and... more

Construction In Bulgarias Bansko Winter Resort Stops 12/03/2008
Construction work in Bansko during winter season 2006/2007 will cease after the municipality and representatives of 53 construction companies agreed on the proposal. Starting December 5 2006 digging within the resort should cease and will be allowed only outside its area, Bansko mayor Aleksander Kravarov said. All trucks will pass outside the resort, without disturbing Bansko residents and tourists. The ban on construction in all parts of the city will be enforced on December 15 2006, Bansko's official website said. Construction companies, violating be fined by as much as 2000 leva. In November Kravarov said that construction in Bansko would stop until urban planning was completed. Once the ban was lifted, construction would be permited only in certain areas, said... more

Foros Sofia Retail Rents Up 24 In 2007 04/04/2008
Retail space rentals in Sofia rose by 24 per cent last year, according to the latest Foros real estate company report, released on April 3. Rent prices in the capital fluctuated between 40 and 130 euro a sq m in 2007 and rents in shopping centres – between 30 and 60 euro, according to the market survey. Average rent prices in Plovdiv varied from 30 to 80 euro a sq m and in Varna – from 20 to 90 euro. Rents in Bourgas ranged from 25 to 55 euro a sq m and in Rousse – between 8 and 30 euro. Commercial sector marked dynamic growth last year, attracting large international investors, as well as local funds. Currently, there is a shortage of retail areas on the market, because the number of completed and working projects in large cities is not big, the authors of the report said. This is... more