South African property firm agrees deal to buy Serdika Center mall in Sofia
Real estate firm New Europe Property Investments (NEPI) has said that it has agreed to buy the Serdika Center shopping mall and office complex in Bulgarian capital Sofia for 207.4 million euro.
The company, incorporated in the Isle of Man, but registered as an external company with limited liability under the laws of South Africa, is listed on the Johannesburg and Bucharest stock exchanges. It owns extensive retail, office and industrial real estate in Romania, but has also made forays into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia and Serbia.
Serdika Center is slated to become NEPI’s first property in Bulgaria, subject to securing regulatory approval, but media reports previously claimed it was also close to a deal for The Mall shopping centre, also in Sofia, until the emergence of a potential rival bidder.
“Serdika Center is a modern shopping centre with a strong fashion-oriented tenant mix, targeting a customer group with above-average income, which, together with its excellent location (approximately3 km southeast of the city centre), represent its competitive advantage,” NEPI said in a statement.
The property, which opened in 2010, has a gross lettable area of 51,468 square metres of retail space that is 99.3 per cent let and 28,488 square metres of class A office space that is 98.6 per cent occupied, the company said.
(Photo: facebook.com/serdikacenter.bg)
