Sat, Nov 21 2009

Equest to shed more Bulgarian assets

Thu, Apr 02 2009 13:12 CET byNick Iliev 1461 Views 2 Comments
Equest to shed more Bulgarian assets

Photo: Valentina Petrova

Equest Investments Balkans Limited, listed on the London Stock Exchange's alternative investment market, said it was considering offloading more assets from the portfolio of companies it owns in Bulgaria in order to boost liquidity.

Its priorities were the Technomarket electronics and household appliances retail chain and the 800 million euro SuperBorovets real estate development, in which Equest owned a 33 per cent stake.

Following recent leadership changes with the State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman becoming a major share holder along with the Milano-based Kairos Investment Management Limited Fund, the fund has decided to alter its management.

Priorities for EIB would be the financing of major projects such as Borovets and Technomarket.

In September 2008 EIB said its intended to sell real estate company Pelican which owned the building of the former Serdika cinema in Sofia, as well as Evropa Palace, Iztok, Urvich and the former factory in Varna, Rodakar.

Furthermore, EIB said it contemplated to reduce or sell its share of 37.72 per cent in the insurance company Unika Bulgaria by 2010, as the company registered a revenue drop over 2008.

Additionally, EIB would reconsider future obligations and options for their investment in Auto Union, the company that distributed Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mazda, Opel, Chevrolet, as well as motorbikes Vespa, Piaggio and Gilera.

The deteriorating economic environment in the Bulgarian auto market, which registered a substantial drop in demand for new vehicles, was further exacerbated by the reluctance of financing through leasing, the EIB statement says.

EIB said it would concentrate its efforts on the realisation of its Borovets project, an investment worth 800 million euro.

The Borovets project was compartmentalised into six separate sub-developments which could be individually developed, lowering the development risk of such a large scale project. The Borovets development company would continue to add value to the project by preparing full architectural master designs and a detailed market study for current demand of residential apartments, whilst no construction works had been started and the project would remain debt free.

The investors would decide on further development commitments and timetables, following the results of the updated market study. 

Comments

Anonymous PeterMontee Fri, Jul 03 2009 06:41 CET
Inappropriate comment?


Quite, yes

Anonymous LeraJenkins Tue, Jun 23 2009 18:17 CET

This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained .

Anonymous Patricia Killeen - Paris Mon, Apr 20 2009 20:02 CET
Inappropriate comment?

Is there anywhere I can get more information regarding this or a telephone contact for someone in Equest?
Best regards.
Patricia Killeen

Write comment

Name:Comment:

Generate new code
Send your comment
Equest continues to dispose assets in Bulgaria

Negotiations have started on property disposals including Rodacar, the 12 300 sq m retail warehouse property in Varna, and the mixed use Serdika project, in the centre of Sofia.

Equest Balkan Properties posts 9.5M euro H1 loss

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.

Equest plans asset sell-offs to boost liquidity

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

Equest divests of former Serdika Hotel

Days after real estate investment trust Equest Balkan Properties announced that it would sell some of its assets in Bulgaria and other neighbouring countries, it announced that it had sold the former Hotel Serdika to Uniqa Real Estate, the real estate subsidiary of Austrian insurer Uniqa, Dnevnik daily reported on May 15.

Equest `to sell mall'

A Bulgarian-language media report said that investment fund Equest Balkan Properties plc had hinted at its intention to sell City Center Sofia. Equest bought City Center Sofia for 94 million euro in March 2006, just two months before the mall's official opening. Investor.bg, reporting the possible sale, claimed that the information had come from Equest Partners Limited's investor relations officer Naomi Kora. The centre has a 44 000 sq m built-up area, 24 000 sq m of which is retail space. It has four floors and two underground levels, which have underground parking for about 500 vehicles, a hypermarket, two levels of shops, an entertainment centre with a six-screen cineplex and a total of 1500 seats, and a number of fast food outlets, restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

Equest admits it is incapable to clean Sofia

Traffic jams, the amount of cars in the narrow streets, the "silly" amount of money and the lack of discipline displayed by those living in Bulgaria's capital were what caused

EQUEST TO SELL FAMILIYA

Investment fund Equest would sell its retail chain Familiya and was in negotiations with four possible buyers, Geori Kroumov, the fund's managing partner, told Dnevnik daily. The sales could be concluded any moment and with that, Equest would leave the retail business two years after it bought its first share in Familiya, Dnevnik daily said.

EQUEST TO INVEST 40 M EURO IN ANCIENT TOWN CONSTRUCTION IN BULGARIA'S SOZOPOL

Immofinance, part of the UK investment fund Equest, has launched the construction of a resort village two km to the south of the coastal town of Sozopol. The company will invest 40 million euro in the project, called Sozopolis, 24 Chassa daily reported. Sozopolis will span nearly 90 000 sq m, but the gross build up area will be only 34 000 sq m. Low buildings, green areas and a 1500 sq m spa centre with mineral water

More in this category

New modern marina worth 24M leva to be constructed in Pomorie

The Black Sea town of Pomorie has approved a proposal for the construction of a spacious and modern marina, with a capacity of over 600 yachts and small passenger ships.

Construction sector in Europe continues to decline

Over the course of a year, from one of the leaders in Europe in new construction, Bulgaria became one of the countries currently quagmired at the bottom of the table and was now amongst the three worst hit countries, along with Romania and Slovenia.

Bulgarian Property Developments begin construction of 12.6M euro logistics park in Rousse

The park is posed to act as an economic stimulant in the region, creating a modern infrastructural base for companies. It is set for completion by Q3 of 2010.

Discounter chains Penny Market, Plus open stores in Bulgaria

Both retailers target at least 50 outlets in Bulgaria by the end of 2010.

The big question

When will Bulgaria’s real estate and construction sector recover?

© 2000-2009, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.