Bulgaria is becoming more and more interesting to foreign institutional investors in real estate. There was further confirmation of this in the past week.

US-based Century 21 real estate brand plans to attract up to 70 Bulgarian real estate offices as its franchisees within the next two years, a senior company official said on September 15.

"As an absolute minimum we want to open 10 offices in our first year of operation. We expect to have 50 to 70 offices by the end of 2008," Century 21 Bulgaria executive director, Nikolai Grudev, said, quoted by the SeeNews service.

Century 21 launched its Bulgarian unit on September 15. The Bulgarian office will offer franchising services in Bulgaria and neighbouring Macedonia, Century 21 Bulgaria CEO, Todor Grudev, told a news conference. He said that about 50 companies, most of them Bulgarian, had shown interest in joining the brand as franchisees so far.

"This setting up a Bulgarian subsidiary enables us to market Bulgarian real estate around the world and the other way round," Century 21 Real Estate CEO Thomas Kunz told the same news conference.

More than 8000 offices in 48 countries operate under the Century 21 brand.

Bulgaria's Winslow Developments and Deutsche Bank plan to build two residential complexes in Bulgaria's capital Sofia worth more than 65 million euro.

Construction works for the first project will start in early 2007, and the second project should begin shortly after that, Winslow said in a statement.

RREEF, the property asset management arm of the Deutsche Bank, and Winslow established a joint venture for residential projects in Sofia in July. An investment fund, managed by RREEF, owns 88 per cent of the joint venture and Winslow Developments holds 12 per cent.

Deutsche Bank's investment in the project is around 15 million euro, and the rest is from other financing institutions.

Deutsche Bank opened its office in Bulgaria earlier this year. Founded in 2001, Winslow Developments has completed several projects in Bulgarian ski resort Bansko.

In another development, Spanish real estate company Riofisa said it would invest about 335 million euro to build a business and entertainment centre in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

The facility will spread over 210 000 sq m of built-up area. It will be close to the city's central bus and railway stations, Riofisa said in a statement.

The centre will include an 80 000 sq m shopping mall, a 90m high tower featuring office space and a hotel, and parking for 4000 cars.

The centre in Sofia will be Riofisa's second project outside Spain after a 150 million euro shopping mall built in the western Romanian city of Timisoara.