Sun, Jul 05 2009
UK consultancy company TRI Investments warned potential real estate investors to avoid investing in European resorts such as those in Bulgaria, France and Italy.
The warning came after companies' shares fell on the real estate stock exchange in Madrid, citywire.co.uk said, as quoted investor.bg.
TRI Investments managing director Chris Finch said that his company was initially enthusiastic about opportunities for investment in Bulgaria but afterwards found out that there was excessive construction along the Bulgarian Black sea coast. The same had happened in Spain, Finch said.
Property tax valuation in Spanish resorts had been too high for years. TRI said that other European destinations could also face drops in their property markets because of a combination of high inflation, oversupply and bureaucracy.
TRI manages the European Residential Property Fund, established in 2005. The company avoided the regions of Bulgaria, Spain and France and focused its investment plans on Bucharest and Prague. Both cities boasted professional business environments that acted as a market incentive.
The project will be financed by the Bulgarian Bank for Development, and the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas, or Jessica Programme, although the report has so far failed to reveal the total cost of the vast enterprise.
The strategic plan envisages the conservation of the nature "for decades ahead", and it was formulated by a municipal team headed by professor Ivan Nikiforov, backed by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev.
Once the overhaul and reconstruction of the Sofia–Vidin line is complete, it will cut travel time to three hours, as the train will be able to reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, shortening the journey to three hours.
Marriott however has made it clear that is not interested in investing in construction, but rather to occupy and manage existing buildings. Its strategy is to obtain management contracts.
Investors realise that it’s not viable to have a building remaining empty over the course of a year – so it's better for them to employ more flexibility to offset that loss.