City Center Sofia For Sale

Investment fund Equest Balkan Properties plc (EBP) was considering the sale of the first shopping mall in Bulgaria, City Center 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, the 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 largest asset of EBP in Bulgaria, the fund told Investor.bg. The sale was going to improve EBP's position on the market and decrease its capital risk.EBP bought the shopping mall in 2006 for 94 million euro just two months before the official opening. In 2007, CCS brought EBP 8.3 per cent return on the investment, Investor.bg said.At present EBP was waiting to get the approval on the design of Serdika Forum which is to become a commercial complex with office spaces.The total investment in the project in which EBP owns 61 per cent is expected to come at 64 million euro, Investor.bg said. Construction is scheduled to start this August and last 18 months.