BULGARIA MALL
UniCredit Bulbank and UniCredit Bank Austria, both members of UniCredit Group, will finance Bulgaria Mall, Sofia's latest shopping centre. Bulgaria Mall, in construction since July 2008, is expected to open its doors at Christmas 2010. The 220 million euro project will see the development of 33 000 sq m of commercial and 30 000 sq m of office space.

MARKET REVIEW
The global financial crisis has affected the Bulgarian property market positively by protecting it from saturation and even a bubble, experts and consultants say. However, not all has been positive, namely, investors withdrawing from Bulgaria's overbuilt mountain and seaside resorts. According to Forton International's Sergei Koinov, the crisis has penetrated all sectors of the property market, including offices, where projects set to sprawl on 1.5 million sq m in the coming months and years will meet tepid demand.

THE BIGGER PICTURE
The number of newly built business properties increased slightly in the first half of 2008, but a the next two years should see a flurry of activity with much higher numbers, a survey by international companies Colliers and Raiffeisen Real Estate shows. Raiffeisen Real Estate estimate that direct foreign investments in the market have declined by 36.5 per cent to 652 million euro in the six months up to June. It said the volume of vacant offices has fallen to less than five per cent, with supply set to outdo demand. The logistics and industrial sectors laboured under administrative hurdles and the global financial crisis. The lettable area in Sofia grew by 14 per cent, to 207 000 sq m.

MAXI IN PLEVEN
Retail centre Maxi opened in Pleven with more than half of the building occupied. The investor and construction company is Nia Invest, and the design by architectural studio Proconsult. Built in only 18 months, the enterprise offered employment to 100 people. The centre area is 8333 sq m in volume, housing about 75 retail units.