EUR 120 M ‘Sofia Ring Mall’ to Be Completed July 2013

The future Sofia Ring Mall – which is to become Bulgaria’s largest retail and entertainment destination together with the closely located store of IKEA Bulgaria – is to be completed by July 2013.

The EUR 120 M shopping center will provide to its customers views towards the city and Vitosha Mountain and a lot of green areas.

This has been announced at a news conference in the Bulgarian capital Tuesday featuring represenatives of the two Greek investors Fourlis Group and Danaos Group as well as the project consultants Colliers International.

They have pointed out that the expansion of Sofia ring road, which is scheduled for the fall of 2012, will provide safe and easy access for the some 1.5 million residents of Sofia.

Sofia Ring Mall is scheduled to be completed by July 2013 and its opening is planned for the fall 2013.

It will feature a tenant mix of over 200 stores, including fashion and sport stores, entertainment facilities, a 10-screen cinema multiplex. More than 25 000 sq meters of gross leasable area are slated to anchor tenants and more than 20 000 sq meters to fashion brands. In total Sofia Ring Mall will have 69 000 square meters of gross leasable area, and 172 000 square meters of gross building area on 3 retail floors.

One of the biggest advantages of Sofia Ring Mall is that it’s a unique cluster of “big box” operators working in synergy with a classical “shopping mall” mix, making it and all-in-one offer catering all needs of visitors, the investors say.

The total investment of the project, including the land and the infrastructure which involves green spaces and assisting roads on the side, is exceeding 120 million EUR.

Some of the tenants that have already made contracts for retail space at the Sofia Ring Mall include Piccadilly; Yavor Furniture; Mr.Bricolage; Cine’Grand; Technomarket; Public.

During the presentation of the project Liberis Moschovitis, General Manager of Sofia Ring Mall, highlighted the regional character of the development and the new experience that will be offered to the visitors.

He noted that “the new retail destination in Sofia has been created to provide the important tenants mix, especially with the combination with IKEA making it a new retail destination in the country.”

“One of the strategic advantages of Sofia Ring Mall is its strategic location, convenient and easy access. Moreover, the successful concept “all under one roof” makes the classic shopping in the city very special experience among the big open spaces, a lot of green area and entertainment places”, said Iglika Yordanova, manager “Commercial area” in Colliers International.

Sofia South Ring Mall EAD, a joint stock company owned by two major investorsFourlis Group & Danaos Group, is a company, active in the investment, lease and management of the commercial center Sofia Ring Mall.

Cleves launches sixth apartment rental project in Sofia

Cleves, the luxury Sofia apartment rental company, today launches a 21-apartment project valued at €4.8m. Cleves Blvd Residence – as it will be known – is the company’s sixth development in Sofia, bringing the total number of apartments in its rental portfolio to 110.

Catherine Barber, Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy in Bulgaria, will formally open Cleves Blvd Residence at an event this evening. Over 120 people are expected to attend, including Ambassadors and senior business people.

Cleves Blvd Residence is to the east of Zaimov Park in central Sofia and a twelve-minute walk from Alexander Nevski Cathedral and the government ministries and Embassies in the heart of the city.

Cleves has created a range of stylish 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom interior-designed apartments in the upper floors and fitted them out to very high specifications.  Unusually, more than half the apartments have 3 bedrooms or more.

Cleves EOOD (www.cleves.bg) is in the process of acquiring a €40m portfolio of up-market, new-build residential property in Sofia.  The company focuses on the top-end of the rentals market.  Its clients are senior international executives and diplomats. The company owns and operates all the apartments in its portfolio.

 Peter Diakov, General Manager of Cleves EOOD, said: “It will be a pleasure to have more apartments available because the rest of our rental portfolio is almost full, with occupancy over 93%.

“This new project is popular already. Even before the launch one third of the units have been reserved. Demand to rent at Cleves Blvd Residence exceeds anything we have experienced before.”

Israeli Company with Bulgarian Projects to Raise USD 46 M

Israeli real estate investment firmGazit-Globe, which has projects inBulgaria too, plans to raise about 175 million shekels (USD 46 M) in an offering of bonds and options for bonds.

The company plans to issue six-year bonds and expects that the amount of the money raised can climb to 445 million shekels if all options are exercised.

The 2.6 million options can be exercised until June 14, 2012 at a price of 104.2 shekels each, the company said on Thursday.

Gazit-Globe‘s bonds are rated “Aa3 stable” by Midroog, the Israeli subsidiary of Moody’s, and “A+ positive” by Standard & Poor’s Maalot.

Gazit-Globe in December raised nearly USD 100 M in an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

In Bulgaria the company operates through its subsidiary Atrium European Real Estate Limited, a Vienna-based investment company, which has a project for a mall in the capital Sofia, but it has been frozen.

The company’s unit Gazit Development also has a project for a commercial park in Sofia.

Gazit-Globe operates in the United States through Equity One and in Canada through First Capital Reality Inc. It is also the largest shareholder in Finland’s Citycon and together with Citigroup controls shopping mall developer Atrium European Real Estate.

PM: No Rallies Will Stop Us from Advancing Bulgarian Tourism

The Forestry Act is indeed lobbyist, but for the benefit of snowboarders andskiers and all winter sports lovers, according to Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov.

Borisov spoke for the media Thursday from the second largest city of Plovdiv where he officially opened the new sports arena of the Plovdiv University.

He reiterated that the law is lobbying for all those who want to resuscitate Bulgaria’s past glory in the ski sport, and slammed those opposing it as the true lobbyists.

The PM gave as example Austria having 12 000 kilometers of ski tracks in its forests, adding that until now there has been already a savage tree felling in Bulgaria all while winter resorts have been moribund.

“There is no risk in this Act and no reason for alarm. It will trigger an influx of tourists to Bulgaria who will choose it over Germany and Austria. It will also create more jobs and better pay in winter resorts and will attract foreign and local investors,” said he.

Borisov told those protesting against the Act that no rally would hurdle investments in winter tourism in Bulgaria.

When asked why the law was passed after so many debates, delays, and at third reading, the PM explained that he insisted on it because one of the texts had to be changed at the last moment to prevent anyone from being able to illegally acquireski tracks.

On Wednesday, the Bulgarian Parliament passed definitively the controversialForestry Act, allowing construction of ski tracks and lifts without changing the status of the land.

The opposition left-wing Coalition for Bulgaria declared Thursday it was going to notify the European Commission about the amendments to the Forestry Act, ask the President to veto them, and alert the Constitutional Court about direct violations of the supreme law.

The right-wing Union of Democratic Forces, UDF, is also going to approachPresident, Rosen Plevneliev, with a request to veto the Act.

Meanwhile, over 2 000 eco activists and their supporters gathered Wednesday evening at the area of Orlov Most (Eagles Bridge) in downtown Sofia to protest the passing of the amendments. The demonstrators blocked traffic on the city’s main thoroughfare “Tsraigradsko Shosse” by sitting on the road. This triggered direct clashes with riot police. The eco activists rallied without a permit since the protestwas organized through the social network Facebook. 12 people were arrested.

A new rally is scheduled for 7:30 pm Thursday.

Bulgarian EconMin: New Law Will Boost Tourism

Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Delyan Dobrev, says he supports of all changes that would benefit tourism and development of the country’s resorts.

“I am on the side of tourism, opening opportunities for its development. The new legislation will provide precisely such opportunities,” the Minister stated Saturday, speaking before Darik radio.

Commenting on the controversial Forestry Act, passed by the Parliament during the week, Dobrev pointed out that in the last few years winter tourism in Bulgaria is catching up with the summer one, stressing the importance of winter resortsreaching full capacity by having modern equipment.

The controversial amendments, giving a green light to construction of ski tracks and lifts without changing the status of use of the land, triggered large-scale protests, shaking the capital Sofia since Wednesday evening.

On the topic of the recently introduced full smoking ban, Dobrev explained that it would not create difficulties for food establishments and coffee shops in the summer when people can smoke outdoors. He said the ban is affecting the most the night clubs and the casinos.

Regarding the country’s economy, the Minister noted that “we are still living in difficult times.”

“In 2010 and 2011 we had a 30% increase of our exports. We will not reach these levels in 2012 – we have a 2% decrease so far,” Dobrev stated.

Tags: Law, tourism, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Delyan Dobrev, Forestry Act, winter tourism, winter resorts, protests