Vienna-listed Sparkassen Immobilien is planning to invest EUR 180 mln in the development of one of the biggest retail and office centres in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Sparkassen, the real estate investment company of Erste bank, is poised to develop the Serdika mall together with Hamburg-based retail specialist ECE Projektmanagement.
Vienna-listed Sparkassen Immobilien is planning to invest EUR 180 mln in the development of one of the biggest retail and office centres in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Sparkassen, the real estate investment company of Erste bank, is poised to develop the Serdika mall together with Hamburg-based retail specialist ECE Projektmanagement.
The project, recently approved by the Bulgarian authorities, will provide some 50,000 m2 of retail space with around 200 shops on three levels, 35,000 m2 of office space, as well as 1,800 parking spaces. The development is scheduled for completion in 2009.
'Bulgaria, and especially Sofia, shows a tremendous potential for long-term substance investor as we are', said Sparkassen's board member Ernst Vejdovzsky. 'Serdika project is our market entry into Bulgaria and due to the attractive yield and the lack of supply and a high demand for shopping centre and class A office spaces we definitely continue with our expansion into his market', he added.
Bulgaria has an average of less than 1 m2 of retail available per 1,000 inhabitants, whereas the average shopping space in the EU countries is 171 m2.
Sparkassen is a leading retail and office investor in Europe and has recently started the largest shopping centre development in Bucharest. The firm is represented and managed in Bulgaria through Immorent Bulgaria, a 100% subsidiary of Erste Bank group