Equest Balkan Properties investment fund said it borrowed 25.675 million euro from Raiffeisen Zentralbank – Austria to finance its Equest Logistics Centre project in Romania, investor.bg reported. The loan has a five-year maturity.

Equest Logistics Centre will spread on a 11ha plot in Bucharest West Logistics Park, the company said, as quoted by investor.bg.

The land was acquired in April 2007 for 5.4 million euro. The fund plans to invest another 34 million euro in the development of more than 5.6ha of logistic, warehouse and office areas. The current project will comprise three buildings, the first of which opened for business in February and completion of the second one is scheduled for August.

It boasts high-profile tenants, such as Paper Plus (a nationwide chain of shops that sell books, stationery, magazines and cards), Germanos Telecom and BDG (which distributes Jack Daniels and Finlandia brands in Romania).

Once the compound is fully occupied, it will fetch 11 per cent annual returns, company representatives told investor.bg. Bucharest West Logistics Park, located 10 km from Bucharest centre, sprawls on a plot of 125ha.

In Bulgaria, Equest is represented through its Equest Investments Balkans Ltd (EIB) subsidiary and its strategic holdings include Technomarket, Bulgaria's largest wholesaler and retailer of consumer electroncics and household applicances; Novera, which owns the three companies that hold concessions for refuse collection and transportation in Sofia; UNIQA Bulgaria (previously Vitosha Insurance), the fifth largest insurance company in Bulgaria; Immofinance, one of the leading Bulgarian residential and second home developers; Pelican Retail Holding, a development company for retail centres; Avto Union, one of the leading local automotive importers and distributors; Citadel Holding, which has entered into a forward sales agreement for the purchase of some 240 hectares on the outskirts of Bucharest. EIB is also the major investor in the future 600-million-euro Super Borovets project.