Equest Balkan Properties has announced the acquisition of its first property in the Republic of Macedonia. The office building known as Skopje Business Centre in the centre of the capital Skopje was purchased for EUR 7.8 mln.
Equest Balkan Properties has announced the acquisition of its first property in the Republic of Macedonia. The office building known as Skopje Business Centre in the centre of the capital Skopje was purchased for EUR 7.8 mln.
The property comprises 3,780 m2 of gross lettable area arranged over seven floors plus a mansard level. There is also a basement for storage and 17 external parking spaces. Equest said negotiations with a prospective tenant are at an advanced stage for a long-term lease of the entire building. Once fully occupied the rental income for the property will exceed EUR 800,00 per annum, representing a yield of over 10%, Equest said.
Equest is an Isle of Man registered property investment company that was incorporated in November 2005. It is focused on buying office, retail and industrial assets in Southeastern Europe. To date, the majority of the total of EUR 360 mln in acquisitions has been in Bulgaria (EUR 132.9 mln), followed by Romania (EUR 94.4 mln), Serbia (EUR 12,5 mln) and the Republic of Macedonia (EUR 7.8 mln).
The company announced this week that its pre-tax profits from November 2005 to end December 2006 came to EUR 28.2 mln after an extremely active investment year. 'We are well on our way to investing EUR 400 mln in the creation of a substantial portfolio of commercial proeprty assets in the fast-growing Balkans markets,' commented Equest's chairman Lord St John of Bletso.