Bulgarian Petrol Holding to set up joint venture with US Federal Development
20 February 2008
Bulgarian Petrol Holding has set up a joint venture with Federal Development, a US company active in public/private real estate development and asset management, to develop office, retail and residential opportunities in Sofia, Varna and Burgas. The financing will be raised through various schemes and bank credits, said Petrol Holding.
The head office of the new company will be in Sofia. It will have regional offices in Burgas and Varna.
”Initial plans focus on converting and redeveloping approximately 50 sites, owned by different entities within the Petrol Holding group of companies, including Petrol AD - the largest fuels retailer in the country, Naftex Petrol - the second largest oil products wholesaler in Bulgaria, Evrocapital Bulgaria - holder of real estate assets, etc,” said a joint press statement.
”These sites will be converted from oil servicing facilities to mixed-use developments that will likely include office, retail, and residential components. Financial analysis indicates that the investment for the projected developments will exceed USD billion over the next ten years. Federal Bulgaria Management AD will also be pursuing opportunities to partner with public entities to develop sites that will enhance the quality of life for local residents”, said a joint press statement.
The land plots earmarked for the upcoming raft of property developments were non-core disposals made by fuel retailer Petrol in 2007. They were acquired by majority owner Petrol Holding.
”Although the restructuring at Petrol is still in progress, we are already witnessing the benefits from the shedding of non-core assets,” Petrol Holding chief executive director Orlin Todorov said in a press release.
Petrol Holding is a leading Bulgarian conglomerate with annual sales of over 1.5 billion Lev.