Sun, Nov 08 2009
Photo: Nadezdha Chipeva
Private equity investor plans to focus on two key projects - the Technomarket retail chain and the SuperBorovets real estate development
Real estate developer Equest Balkan Properties has recorded a loss of 9.5 million euro before-tax loss in the first half of 2008, compared to a 9.7 million profit recorded in the first six months of last eyar, on the back of rising finance costs, operating and administrative expenses, as well as falling valuations of its assets, the company said in a statement filed with the London Stock Exchange, where it is listed on the alternative investment market.
Investment fund Equest Investment Balkans (EIB), which is listed on the alternative segment of the London Stock Exchange, plans to sell out assets to buy back shares and boost liquidity under a new strategy outlined in its first-half financial report. The report did not specify which assets, but said that the company would narrow its real estate portfolio, estimated by consultants CB Richard Ellis at 78.8 million euro
Office rent transactions peaked at 65 000 sq m between July and September 2008, but collapsed to 10 700 sq m in Q3 2009, Forton manager Sergei Koinov said.
Most potential buyers are now opting to buy a luxury flat in the range of 120 000 to 150 000 euro or a single family home for about 500 000 euro.
About 30 000 to 35 000 people employed in the construction sector were facing redundancies in 2010, Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister Rossen Plevneliev said on October 26.
Average market prices of housing in Bulgaria dropped five per cent in July-September, measured quarter-on-quarter, the National Statistical Institute said on October 23 2009.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has released a 43.5 million euro loan to Sofia Municipality, for infrastructure projects worth 88.1 million euro in total