Спрос на офисы в Болгарии сейчас примерно вдвое ниже по отношению к пиковым показателям 2008 года, передает Sofia Echo.

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Как утверждают некоторые аналитики, благодаря значительному падению цен, в 2010 году ожидается восстановление спроса на данном рынке. За прошлый год арендные ставки сократились на 22,5%. Повышение арендаторской активности скорее всего приведет к стабилизации стоимости аренды, полагают эксперты. (more…)

По данным консалтинговой компании MBL, объем незанятых офисных площадей в Болгарии может к концу года достичь 10%. Основной причиной этого, по мнению аналитиков, является увеличение строительной активности, несмотря на ухудшающийся из-за кризиса спрос. (more…)

Юлия ЛОЗОВСКАЯ
“Ваш Дом за Рубежом” На рынке недвижимости Болгарии – новый тренд. Пока аналитики спорят о дальнейшей динамике развития сегмента курортной недвижимости, самые интересные для инвесторов события происходят в сегменте коммерческих объектов.

 Об этом и не только мы беседуем с Красимиром Лозановым, с 2002 по 2006 год занимавшим пост консула по торгово­экономическим вопросам при Генеральном консульстве Республики Болгария в Санкт­Петербурге, а ныне – управляющим директором ООО «Деловой Центр Пловдив» и директором по развитию бизнеса болгарской инвестиционной компании ЗАО «Новиз».

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Болгария становится последней страной, в которой дорожающая сельскохозяйственная земля предоставляет инвесторам альтернативу при вложениях в недвижимость. Пахотная земля в США и Великобритании показала существенное увеличение цен за последние месяцы. Инвестиционный интерес к Восточной Европе также содействует удорожанию тамошней земельной собственности.

Перспективность вложений в сельскохозяйственные угодья Болгарии повышает и снижающийся интерес к курортам и недвижимости данной страны. Все большее количество институциональных инвесторов предпочитают доверять свои деньги именно сельскохозяйственной земле или ее альтернативе предназначающейся для дальнейшего развития. Такую информацию предоставляет компания Sash Property Solutions.

Исследование проведенное данной компанией свидетельствует о удорожании сельскохозяйственных земель Болгарии на 40% в течении последних нескольких лет. Компания связывает подобный рост с меньшей степенью рисков возникающих при вложениях в пахотную землю по сравнению с недвижимостью. (more…)

Средний годовой рост стоимости аренды промышленных и логистических площадей в Европе - 6%. Болгария входит в десятку лидеров среди стран с наиболее высоким темпом роста этого показателя. Одна из причин такого роста – это нехватка в предложении свободных промышленных площадей в национальном масштабе. Спрос на такие площади определяется как от местных, так и от международных арендаторов, сконцентрированных в основном в столице и в крупных портовом городе Варна, предпочитаемых благодаря хорошему транспортному сообщению. Большой процент промышленных площадей строится для собственных нужд компаний. С другой стороны все больше инвесторов стремятся вложить деньги в строительство логистических центров с целью последующей сдачи в аренду. (more…)

Дефицит качественных офисных и логистических площадей продолжится еще в течение 3-5 лет, что дополнительно привлечет иностранных инвесторов в этот сегмент. Это прогноз Colliers International Bulgaria.

Предложение таких площадей в Болгарии все еще очень слабое по сравнению с другими странами Западной и Центральной Европы. В настоящее время в стране есть 606 000 м? офисов. Спрос в 2007 году показал рост на 20%, это связано в основном с расширением бизнеса болгарских и иностранных фирм в Болгарии.

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The office market remained stable in contrast to the industrial one thanks to the good number of class A and B offices for sale and rent. Industrial terrains enjoy investor interest as compared to other sectors on the market in Bulgaria. Demand in this industry much outpaces supply, Foros analysis shows. This is thanks to the country’s accession to the EU and its success in establishing a broad network of relationships with countries from within and without of the EU.

The demand of warehouse and logistic areas in big cities grew, and the existing industrial infrastructure proved to be insufficient for the boosted economic activity. This accounts for the enhanced interest in regulated plots and agricultural lands with a view to subsequent industrial and warehouse construction. All industrial areas in Varna have seen a large increase of land prices since the beginning of the year. It has been estimated at 105 per cent for the whole municipality (the newly established Topoli area saw a 200 per cent mark-up).

Plots asked average 22 euro/sq m at the beginning of 2007, whereas at the end of September they sold at as much as 70 euro. Plots in the industrial districts within the city itself were even more expensive. The South industrial area attracted the greatest attention, partly due to the future movement of the port complex and the projected construction of a terminal. Prices have risen by 150 per cent since the turn of the year – from 40 to 100 euro/sq m. The district in Metro hypermarket’s vicinity exhibited a 43 per cent price hike, and plots in the West industrial area grew by 50 per cent. (They started at 100 euro/sq m in January 2007.)

The city zoning plan envisions a 50 per cent construction density and a building intensity factor set at 2.5. Large-area edifices, mall establishments, retail centres, and factories with environmentally-friendly production output are on the go, Ivan Trendafilov, Varna’s chief architect thinks. Brokers predict that appreciation of plots will go on in 2008 due to the region’s urbanisation. (Specialists remember that, after passing of the zoning plan, plots in Metro’s vicinity grew twelve-fold.)

The office market remained stable in contrast to the industrial one thanks to the good number of class A and B offices for sale and rent. To exemplify: prices of offices in central Varna rose from 1250 euro/sq m to 1350 euro, accounting for an eight per cent hike since the beginning of the year.

Pfohe Mall, the first mall in Varna, officially opens on December 1. Its occupancy rate exceeds 90 per cent, the specialised rental office of Foros National Real Estate Company announced. Foros owns the exclusive rights to let out all of Phohe Mall’s retail areas and has developed the project’s overall concept. Pfohe Mall has been classified as a Fashion/Lifestyle Mall, according to the International Council of Shopping Centres.
A constellation of popular brands, such as OVIESSE, Pierre Cardin, MEXX, Tom Tailor, Hush Puppies, KENVELO, Furla, Adam’s shoes, O’Neill, KILLAH, Patrizia Pepe, Enrico Coveri, Mariella Burani, Riccione, Rossignol, Quicksilver, Fila, and Oxxbow opted for renting an outlet in the mall. Among the tenants are:
· high couture leaders Purple, Galdini, Classic, Ariston’s;
· fast food giants McDonald’s, Nordsea, Coffee Republic;
· mobile service providers Globul, M-TEL, Vivatel;
· front-runners in the services sphere Piraeus Bank, United Bulgarian Bank, Alfa Bank;
· retail chains Technomarket and Perfect Home;
· entertainment venues Sesame casino and Galaxy bowling.

Find more information at http://www.pfohe-mall.com/

One billion euro will be invested in road construction and reconstruction over the next six years. By 2013, as much will be invested in Bulgaria’s transport infrastructure, announced Pmrime Minister Sergey Stanishev and Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev during their inspection on the the construction of a railway connecting Plovdiv and Svilengrad yesterday.

Close to 100 million euro of the subsidy on Transport programme will be spent on road construction and reconstruction. Another 580 million euro will go for railroad infrastructure. And, 158 million euro are going to be spent for improvements of water transport, Neli Yordanova, director of Coordination of Programmes and Projects Directorate at the Ministry of Transport.

An emerging trend on the Bulgarian business property segment is the marketing to buyers of projects at the design stage,local realtors said, as quoted by Dnevnik Daily. Everything is sold right off the drawing table before even the first sod of ground is turned, said Krasimir Dimitrov from Source Real Estate.

A crucial deal-maker for the buyers is for the respective project to have passed all relevant administrative procedures like rezoning, planning approval, etc. The latest large-scale property to be transacted at the design stage is the 100 million euro Mall Plovdiv sale to GE Real Estate and Quinlan.

The list of major projects transacted so far in 2007 includes also Mall Varna (Varna), Megapark Soravia (Sofia), Business Park Varna (Varna), Porsche Center (Sofia) and Hypermarket Technolux (Pleven). The combined price exceeds 400 mln euro.

Investment fund Equest and Oman investors from have set up a joint venture that will implement the Super Borovets project, said Equest managing partner Georgi Krumov. The joint venture Borovets Invest now owns 67% of Rila Samokov 2004, the project company that owns 2 mln sq m of land in Bulgaria’s Borovets mountain area for further development into residential second homes and associated infrastructure.

Equest has contributed 10 mln euro to the partnership where ownership is evenly split between the two investors. The size of the Oman investment in the joint venture was not disclosed.

Earlier this year Equest invested 15 mln euro in the capital of Rila Samokov 2004 to gain entry into the project.

The Samokov municipality controls a 25% share in Rila Samokov 2004 AD with construction company Glavbolgarstroy holding 8%.

A day before the announcement of the joint venture with Oman investors, Romanian news agency Rompress reported that Equest had acquired Romanian electronics and home appliances retailer Domo.

At end-2006, Domo had a national chain of 107 shops selling household, electronic, IT and telecom appliances, with a total area of some 40,000 sq m.

In Bulgaria, Domo has 7 specialist stores, with a total area of 3,500 sq m.

Equest already owns one electronics retailer, Bulgaria’s Technomarket. The chain has plans to expand into Romania and Serbia.

The Domo deal is a key investment for Equest as it shapes up the biggest chain of electronics stores on the Balkans, said Krumov. He did not rule out the merger of the two store chains.

Coastal municipalities Tsarevo, Pomorie and Ahtopol will team up with private or otherwise investors for the construction of yacht ports in each of the three Black Sea resort towns, Bulgarian transport minister Petar Mutafchiev said last week.

Recent legislative changes transferred to the local authorities title over the port facilities ensuring an additional revenue source and an incentive for the development of sailing tourism.

Another two coastal ports, Sozopol and Nesebar, remain on the list of facilities that will be operated under a concession arrangement.

The respective municipal councils will now have to vote to redefine the status of the ports as public municipal property and then move to review their development plans.

The international yacht marina planned for Pomorie should be completed within 3 years, said architect Ivan Avramov from the municipality. The Pomorie local government will contribute 8-10% of the necessary funding. Avramov said the municipalities has already had talks with local and foreign investors on the creation of a joint venture to implement the project.

Tsarevo will be developed as a yachting, sea cruise and commercial fishing destination, said city mayor Petko Arnaudov. An Italian company and an outfit registered in Monaco are reportedly interested in the Tsarevo port.

The cost of upgrading the Tsarevo and Ahtopol ports to welcome contemporary yachts is seen at 20-30 mln levs.

Dobrich is among the 10 Bulgarian cities actively working on the development of industrial zones.

The Dobrich municipality, North-eastern Bulgaria, has won a Phare-funded project to develop the industrial zone scheme with assistance from the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), mayor Detelina Nikolova told a conference on public-private partnerships organised by the USAID and VEGA.

The defence ministry has granted the Dobrich municipality use of a decommissioned military outpost with an area of 42.4 ha. The site for the future industrial park is conveniently located in close proximity to railway, road and gas infrastructure.

The new zoning plan of the city should be ready by the end of 2007. It will include the architectural plan for the industrial zone.

The municipality intends to participate as a shareholder in a corporation specially set up to develop the project.

GTC Bulgaria, the local unit of Polish developer GTC, has acquired a 65% stake in a retail project in Bulgarian coastal city Varna, the parent company said in a press release on its corporate website. The project comprises 37,000 sq m of net rentable area.

Upon completion, scheduled for Q4 2008, the shopping center will generate about 9.5 mln euro in rental income annually. The company said it has also agreed the terms for the acquisition of two more retail sites in Bulgaria. The remaining 35% belongs to the owner of the land, a reputable local entrepreneur.

The total development cost, including land, is estimated at 77 mln euro.

A zoning permit has already been obtained for the project. Construction will start as soon as a building permit is received.

The shopping mall will be located at the intersection of the city’s major transit routes, next to popular housing districts. Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and one of the main tourist destinations on the Black Sea coast, with 330,000 residents.

At the moment, there are two shopping and entertainment centers in development in Varna. Interservice Ouzounov, the Bulgarian home appliance and consumer electronics retailer, is building Mall Varna while a real estate investment trust owned by the local Ford dealer is developing Pfohe Mall. Both should open by the end of 2007.

Orchid Mall Varna, a project of property developer Orchid Developments, is also due for kick-off. In addition to the site in Varna, GTC Bulgaria has agreed on terms for the acquisition of two other retail projects in large Bulgarian cities.

The two projects comprise a total 60,000 sq m of net rentable retail space. The completion of those transactions is subject to positive results of due diligence.

In June 2006, Polish news portal bankier.pl. reported that GTC Real Estate Investments Bulgaria will invest 1.5 mln euro in a new office development in Sofia.

It was reported that GTC Real Estate Investments Bulgaria planned to buy a 4,500 sq m lot for the construction of 7,200 sq m of office space.

Construction was due to get underway in the second half of 2006 and finish by early 2008.

In April 2006, GTC said it had signed an agreement to acquire 3,800 sq m of land in an attractive district in the Bulgarian capital, in proximity to the American Embassy. The acquisition price was named at 2.4 mln euro. The lot was zoned for the development at least 11,600 sq m of net office and retail space. Construction was scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2007.

Riofisa SA, a leading Spanish real estate company, said it expects to secure all necessary construction permits and commence work on its mixed-use development in Sofia, said Carlos Pilar, in charge of the company’s international expansion. Riofisa Wednesday was granted a First Class Investor certificate by InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority.

Pilar said the conceptual design of the development will be completed promptly and the company will apply for the relevant permits as soon as possible. The 280,000 sq m built-up area scheme, sited near the Sofia central train station, should be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.

The launch of the 85,000 sq m retail component of the scheme will attract retailers that are not yet present on the Bulgaria market but usually have leases in Riofisa commercial properties.

In addition to retail outlets, the shopping center will feature a supermarket, casino, bowling alleys and cinema theaters.

The property, with an initial estimated cost of 335 mln euro, will be anchored by an 90 m high-rise housing offices and a hotel. The other components of the scheme are still being put together and it has not been decided if they will be office or residential, said Pilar.

In 2006, Riofisa unveiled a 215 mln euro project for a commercial and entertainment center in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second biggest city. Pilar said on Wednesday that the land plot for the scheme has been purchased but refuse to name the location.

The 200 mln euro commercial park near the Sofia International Airport being developed by U.S. company Tishman is being held back by the insistence of the Bulgarian environment ministry that the investor submit an environment impact assessment (EIA) for the project. The project cannot be gain construction approval before all the relevant permits are granted by the environment ministry.

The size of the Tishman development has qualified the company for a First Class Investor certificate and administrative support. The InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority, assisted Tishman in arranging a meeting with the ministers of economy and environment to discuss the problem. Initially, the company was asked to submit an EIA but that requirement was later dropped after it was successfully litigated by Tishman.

The U.S. company was then asked for additional information certifying that the project is safe and meets all relevant environment standards. ‘The requested documents have been handed in and we are awaiting the response of the regional environment protection directorate,’ said Pepa Dimitrova from Tishman’s Bulgarian office. is a multi-purpose mix of office, logistics, storage and hotel buildings located 300 m from the new terminal of the Sofia airport. The commercial park will have a 10 ha footprint and built-up area of 256,000 sq m, including 100,000 sq m of office space, 20,000 sq m of warehouse floor area and 40,000 sq m of hotel premises.

A subway station, providing a transportation link with the downtown and the western-most boroughs of the capital, should open in the vicinity of the commercial park within 3 years. A total of 90,000 sq m of office space will be placed on the market during the initial stage of the project. Some 20,000 sq m of logistics and industrial floor area will be built by the fall of 2007.

30,000 sq m of Class A low to mid-rise office buildings will be ready in the first half of 2008.

Local tourism company Albena said it will sell its , on the Black Sea, by the end of August. The company is in talks with a foreign strategic investor who has already invested in North-eastern Bulgaria and is here for the long run, said Albena manager Krasimir Stanev withholding the name of the candidate buyer.

A further two foreign buyers are also reportedly interested in White Lagoon but the said investor will have exclusivity through August. Albena intended to add a golf course to the White Lagoon but a number of similar projects are already in progress in the area, said Stanev. The resort would require an investment of 50 mln to 100 mln levs, a resource that Albena cannot afford over the near term, said Stanev.

White Lagoon was listed on the Bulgarian bourse in March this year. The resort, located near Balchik, consists of 2 hotels with a total bed capacity of 79 double rooms.

Alfa Developments, the Bulgarian property investment company, said it has broken ground for the construction of the mixed-use Alfa Business Center in South-eastern Sofia. , will have a built-up area of 15,700 sq m. It will deliver 7,000 sq m of office space on 7 aboveground levels.

The building is designed to accommodate 116 cars on two underground parking levels. Storage facilities and shops will occupy one semi-underground level.

Alfa Business Center will be first scheme from the multi-purpose BPS Alfa Park that will be completed.

The 110 mln euro BPS Alfa Park, located at a 10 min drive from the Sofia International Airport and a 15 min drive from the center of the capital, is part of the Sofia Park project, the biggest property development ever launched in Bulgaria.

BPS Alfa Park, conceived as an extension of the existing Business Park Sofia office and logistics property, will have total built-up area of 152,000 sq m. Half of the space inventory will be office premises with 20% earmarked for residential use. The complex should be completed by the end of 2010.

Sofia Park, which integrates work and living environments, comprises also Residential Park Sofia, Business Park Sofia (managed by Alfa Developments) and a large-scale mall development, among other properties.

Alfa Developments is a subsidiary of Alfa Finance Holding AD, a local holding company with a portfolio of high-profile finance and real estate projects. The Alfa Developments spread includes also Panorama City, a project for a gated residential community in Varna, and the Sofia Central Park serviced residences.

Investor.bg

Galchev Engineering Group in co-operation with Austria’s Norema was chosen as the investor for the construction of the Dobrinishte tourist ski zone. This was said by Radko Lechov, head of the Bansko municipal council, at a council meeting on May 13, Investor.bg reported.

“We chose Galchev Engineering Group after serious investigation of its activities. It turned out that the company has serious experience in building tourist complexes. Norema has strong financial potential. The combination of the two is extremely good,” Lechov said.

At the next meeting to be held in June, the two holdings are expected to form a mixed share holding with Bansko Municipality to carry out the project. The intention is for the municipality to have strict control over the building of the ski zone, Lechov said.

Building was expected to start by the end of the year, he said.

The ski zone will be designed by the same person who designed the ski zone in Bansko, architect Emil Lechov. The project will cost about 200 million leva.  Investor.bg said that last year, because of increasing interest in the Dobrinishte project, Bansko municipality worked out the basics for the development of the resort. This was presented to potential investors. Among investors that took an interest in the project were Nord Invetment Inc, and Sunset Developments Ltd, the owner of the two mountain huts and the hotel in Dobriniste. Later, Sunset Developments Ltd changed its name to Dobrinishte Ski Ltd.

Last October, the Invest Bulgaria Agency gave Dobrinishte Ski a first class investor certificate for the ski complex project. For now, it remains unclear why the Dobrinishte Ski Ltd project did not go further. An official statement by the Invest Bulgaria Agency was expected.

Currently, the ski complex in Dobrinishte includes the Dobrinishte hotel which has a 130 bed capacity, Gotse Delchev hut (40 beds), and Bezbog hut (140 beds). The ski track is five km long. It starts at Bezbog hut and finishes at Gotse Delchev hut. It is 30 m wide, with two lifts, ski drags, and a ski school.

Investor.bg 

Bulgarian real estate investment trust Activ Properties has added to its portfolio a 4.8 ha land plot near Sozopol, on the Black Sea, the company said in a filing with the Bulgarian stock exchange. The REIT plans to develop a vacation complex in the area. No further details about the project were immediately available. The company is in the process of acquiring more properties in the vicinity which will be rezoned. These properties are not part of the protected wilderness tracts in the region, said executive director Dilian Panev.

The investment in coastal properties will form a faction in the Activ Properties portfolio and will be financed with the proceeds from the company’s capital raise. In March, the REIT hiked its capital from 5.2 mln to 19.7 mln levs, raising 22 mln levs.

There are no plans to raise cash with further share sales over the next 12-18 months, said Panev. The company will rely on debt and loan financing over the said period. At the moment, the focus is on the design of a residential development in Plovdiv, said Panev. Construction should begin in the fall. The 41 mln euro project should be completed in 36 months.

Activ Properties owns several premises in a new mixed-use building on Sofia’s Tsarigradsko Shose boulevard and an underground parking lot and commercial center in Plovdiv. The REIT posted a profit of 1.022 mln levs for 2006, sharply up from 30,000 levs in 2005. Revenues topped 1.731 mln levs, including 299,000 levs of rent income.