MALL VARNA SOLD
Miller Developments, the arm of UK’s largest private real estate developer Miller Group, bought Mall Varna in a 120 million euro deal. Negotiations on the sale set out a year ago when the majority stakeholder in the retail project, Interservice Uzunovi of Bulgaria, started work on the facility.
Mall Varna spreads on 70 000 sq m and has 32 000 sq m of lettable space.
Expectations are that the mall will open doors in less than six months. Among the mall’s tenants are Sprider, Hippoland, Esprit and Fox. Piccadilly will be running a supermarket and Arena will be operating the cinema hall in the facility. Happy, McDonald’s and Fancy will hold three of the 10 restaurants within the facility. Mall Varna will also house the first Bulgarian shop of international fashion brand New Yorker.
NO QUICK ANSWER ON BELENE
The European Commission is likely to lag with its answer on the construction of Belene nuclear power plant, a spokesperson for European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said on September 24. The main reason is the need to explore the parameters of the new Russian-made nuclear reactors. Russia’s AtomStroyExport, the company tasked to build the plant, will commission these reactors for the first time ever. And since there is the probability that other EU member states venture to commission units of the type, the European Commission is in need of more time to inspect the equipment, the spokesperson was quoted as saying. Bulgaria’s Dnevnik business daily quoted Piebalgs as saying that Brussels was likely to come up with a positive assessment on the plant. This would allow the National Electric Company (NEC), the operator of Bulgaria’s second nuke plant, to apply for a long-term loan at Euratom. The cabinet hopes to borrow 350 million euros from the European energy authority. NEC and AtomStroyExport are scheduled to sign the definitive agreement on the plant’s construction before the end of the year.
A HOME IN 30 YEARS
A home in Bulgaria is worth 30 average annual salaries, the European comparative real estate portal Properazzi reads. The survey assigns Bulgaria a bottom placement. Denmark comes atop of the ranking with a home worth 5.3 annual salaries.
Properazzi sees Bulgaria’s average annual salary at 3800 leva and 1884 euros and an average cost of homes in highest demand of 54 570 euros.
TSIGOV CHARK SOLD
Tsigov Chark, a landmark recreation complex in Batak, Plovdiv region, was sold to Libero AD Sofia. The buyer, the sole candidate in an open tender called by the Privatisation Agency on September 24, paid the starting price for the property, 2.5 million leva.
The deal is subject to the approval of PA’s Supervisory Council.
Tsigov Chark comprises a hotel, sports hall, restaurant with a night club, swimming pool, tennis club, purification facility, solar collectors, among others.
