Latest Property and Economy news from Bulgaria. News for Visitors and Investors

13.11.2007 CBA Asset Management opens a outlet in Veliko Turnovo

The local company CBA Asset Management introducted a new supermarket in Bulgaria's Veliko Turnovo last Friday. The company's network of outlets now numbers 11, along with this newly launched unit.
There are five supermarkets situated in Veliko Turnovo, four in Rousse, and two in Gabrovo and another store opening planned at Retail Park Veliko Turnovo.
The company's first commercial construction is located in Sofia's Svoboda neighbourhood. It has a gross leasable area of 1 400 sq m and already enjoys full occupancy.
CBA Asset Management plans to develop convenience shops in the large neighborhoods of northcental Bulgaria's cities, Ivailo Marinov, the executive director, announced. The company is considering business opportunities in Bulgaria's large regional cities and opportunities abroad, as well.
They plan to secure financing for their future undertakings through staging an initial public offering, which will make use of a book-building procedure. The company will float 3.9 million new shares at a par value of 1 lev and a minimum issue price of 2 leva.
CBA Asset Management currently has 16.3 million leva in capital, which will grow to 20.2 million if the IPO, scheduled for November 14-16, is successful. The net proceeds from the IPO are estimated at 5.506 million leva

12.11.2007 Truststroy to build commercial complex in Bulgaria's Targovishte

The building of an auto salon was slated to begin within days, whereas German retailer Kaufland was slated to start construction its new supermarket early next year. Truststroy Investment, a company owned by two lawyers based in Bulgaria's Targovishte, will turn the first sod of Targovishte's second commercial complex, investor. The three-floor luxury building would adding the CBA supermarket and the Mebel Stil Chamber.
The building would be ready before the end of next year and would spreads over 1900 sq m. Shops would cover the first two floors and the luxurious offices the third floor. The last floor was to house a panoramic bar.
Truststroy Investment had assigned the development work to local entrepreneur Decho Diakov.
The complex would secure jobs for at least 30 people and the shops would be sold rather than rented out.

10.11.2007 FairPlay Properties REIT to raise capital for the fourth time

"We proved our ability to invest in profitable assets like Holiday Village Santa Marina in Sozopol," the fund representatives said.The board of directors of FairPlay Properties will increase its capital from 50.7 million to 60.84 million leva through the flotation of 10.14 million new shares with a nominal value of 1 lev and issue price of 2.25 leva per share. The company will start 2008 with its fourth successive capital increase.

The fund would become the biggest REIT by registered capital. This will happen if the whole new emission is registered. It is precisely one fifth from the already emitted shares. That means that one right will be given for every old share, and every five rights will allow the purchase of one new share. The fund representatives said : "We proved our ability to invest in profitable assets like Holiday Village Santa Marina in Sozopol,"

09.11.2007 First Specimen house in Sofia Sky residential complex opens

The first Sample house in Sofia sky residential complex opened to the public of the Austrian-style gated compound. Visitors are welcome to go over the finished and up-to-date house every work day from 2 pm to 5 pm and during the weekends - from 11 am to 2 pm.
Sofia sky residential complex, the first residential project of Raiffeizen Evolution Project Devlopment in Bulgaria, is located in Simeonovo borough. The project, estimate at 17 million euro, will be implemented in two stages. The first stage is set for completion in 2008 and the second - in 2009. Each stage will provide for 55 apartment units. The complex offers three single-family houses, 430 sq m each, and five city mansions.
The average sale cost of the residential units in Sofia Sky is 1200 euro a sq m. Twenty five per cent of the units in Sofia Sky have been already purchased, RE representatives announced. The buyers are affluent Bulgarians.

08.11.2007 Bulgaria's Chepelare Resort season begins

Bulgaria's Chepelare winter resort in the Rhodopi Mountain will begin the new winter season with four new hotels with 300 beds and a vacation village of 10 houses. Subi Madankov, head of the hotel and restaurant owners union in Smolyan, told that, with the new lodgings, Chepelare would be able to host 1600 tourists at a time.
In winter season 2007/2008, in Chepelare two centres for biathlon with ski runs of one, two, and three km, will open, Focus news agency announced. One of the centres is in the town, while the other is on the Mechi Chal peak. The snowboard park in the town will be made longer.
According to Madankov, no 'drastic' raise in the price of the ski lift tickets is to be await Currently, the lift and the amenities are being examined. Some 90 per cent of the ski runs are ready, Madankov said. With the new tracks, Chepelare has 22 km of alpine ski runs and 20 km of ski and biathlon tracks.

07.11.2007 Carrefour Tsarigradsko Centre reported

France's Carrefour, the world's second largest retail giant, said the launch of its first Bulgarian projects at a news conference held on November 5. Colliers International real estate consultants hold the exclusive agency rights of the project and Greece's TERNA will carry out the construction of the complex. The overall investment is estimated at 200 million euro. This is the largest mall project usually being developed on the Balkans. It is due to open in mid-2009.
The future centre will have a gross real area of 240 000 sq m, 14 000 of which will be allocated to the mall. It will embraces six levels, three of which will be underground parking lots and garages. The ground and first floor will house retail outlets and the third level is planned as a zone for leisure and entertainment. The complex will give shelter 200 retail outlets and its gross leasable are is calculated at 66 000 sq m. There will be office buildings adjacent to the establishment.
The company will open 20 hypermarkets in different Bulgarian towns in the impending five- to seven-year period. The first one will open in Bourgas at the close of 2008. The next complex are projected in Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, and Rousse. The capital alone will have at least two outlets.

06.11.2007 Dramatic grow in holiday homes in Bulgaria H1 2007 - collier

The total number of holiday home units in Bulgaria “increased dramatically” over the first half of 2007, a Colliers Bulgaria announced showed.
Supply of holiday homes in the mountain resorts grow by 52%t with more than 10 000 new apartments offered in the market.
Nearly 80% of new apartments were construct in the Bansko resort and the area.
Another 13 500 newly built apartments were offered for sale in the seaside resorts over the same period, amounting to a 39% increase, the report told. More than one third of these new holiday homes were built in Sunny Beach.
The total number of vacation homes in June 2007 exceeded 76 500.
Supply continued to exceed the demand. Sales prices of resort apartments stay unchanged, between 800 and 1700% sq m.
Atanas Garov, leading director of Colliers Bulgaria, said “international buyers, predominantly British and Irish, continued to account for most of the demand. Recently we have seen a lot of Russians entering the market, and they look to become major players.”

05.11.2007 Bulgarian cities 'good bets' for investors

Bulgaria's hugest cities, Sofia and Varna, offer the best opportunities for short- and medium-term investors, the web site HoldiayLettings.co.uk announced. There will be a "shift" in vogue away from the seasides and ski resorts and more toward the cities, with most folks choosing to buy off-plan say consultants from Property Secrets, as quoted by HolidayLettings.
Sofia is not the "most beautiful" location, in accordance with Simon Tweddle from Property Secrets, but it has the advantage of mountains nearby to the south. Tweddle told of Bulgaia's market growth: "It's partly because you've had so many foreign investors over there in the last few years that finance is actually probably a little bit more advanced than in neighbouring countries; it's probably the most advanced in that area."

03.11.2007 Investors hunt for of lands in smaller mountain villages

Accordance with the latest Oxford Business Group report, presented on October 30, Bulgarian mountain resorts attracted the most foreigner attention of any Bulgarian resorts in 2006. The Black Sea resorts such as Albena, Sunny Beach, and Golden Sands were less attractive as vacation properties since these places are considered to be profitable only in the summer.
The last few years have seen a tremendous increasing in Bansko. Projects have been springing up on an almost daily basis, irretrievably affecting the landscape. Some property experts predict that Bansko is a done deal, i.e. it will never be the lovely and attractive resort it once was.
However, this does not deter owners from offering their plots of land. Currently, there are about 400 plots on sale in the area, their prices varying from 40 to 210 euro a sq m, IMOT.BG announced. Owners of lands situated in proximity to the ski lift or the town centre did not quote a company price, but rather stipulated it as "negotiable," with a view to subsequent haggling to get the highest bid. Now plots situated in not-so-popular regions are also posted under similar quotation.
Lands situated within a kilometer or two of Bansko are at the low price range (50 to 100 euro a sq m). Ovinache and Kotechkoto regions ask more than 200 euro/sq m. They are think over to be the most expensive in the area.

31.10.2007 Greek-Bulgarian company to build holiday complex close to Blagoevgrad

Greek-Bulgarian company FIA Bulgaria will build a holiday complex in Hadjidimovo municipality, near Blagoevgrad.
The complex will have a footprint of 56 000 sq m and will comprises of hotels and villas. It will also embrace a medical centre, parks, parking places and a church.
FIA Bulgaria would invest 15 million leva in the project, Standard daily announced. The building was to begin by the end of 2008.
This would be the biggest investment in the region.
he complex construction would open 200 work places.
Hadjidimovo municipality told that investors’ interest in the municipality grew after the opening of Ilinden-Exohi border checkpoint in late 2005.

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