The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and Postbank (Bulgaria) will jointly provide €58.3 million (€32 million and €26.3 million, respectively) to help finance the construction of a Marriott hotel in Sofia, the first hotel of the international chain in Bulgaria. The 12-year loan will be extended to I Tower Development JSC, a special-purpose company set-up in Bulgaria. BSTDB acted as arranger of the deal. The operation aims at meeting the growing demand for high-quality business and tourist accommodation and conference facilities in the Bulgarian capital.
The construction of the 232-room Marriott hotel is to be completed in 2020.
“The operation will not only improve the hospitality infrastructure in Sofia, but will also make a significant contribution to the Bulgarian economy in terms of tax revenues, the creation of direct and indirect jobs, and increased activity in the local construction industry. As a development institution, BSTDB is happy to attract foreign investment to Bulgaria, while strengthening synergies with the local financial sector to promote economic growth in the country,” stated Ihsan Ugur Delikanli, BSTDB President, after the signing of the loan agreement.
“I Tower building in Sofia will be an impressive construction facility of a new generation. It will be built in one of the most prominent and active areas of Sofia. We are proud to be part of such a challenging project - a club deal between two lenders, foreign investors and one of the most famous hotel chains worldwide – Marriott. We will also support the development of the project with full servicing of the accounts of the client. One of our main priorities in Postbank is to provide the corporate sector with fast and efficient packages of products and services tailored to their specific needs", commented Petia Dimitrova, CEO and Chairperson of the MB of Postbank.
“We have invested a lot of time, effort and resources in the past 11 years into I Tower, and we are very glad to be partnering up with both, BSTDB and Postbank for our project financing. Attracting one of the global leaders in hospitality in the face of Marriott has been crucial and will defiantly contribute to marking the development as one of the landmarks in Sofia. For the running and operations of the entire complex will be looking to hire more than 250 new employees throughout the different departments, providing a diversity of services at international standards. In addition to the first Marriott hotel in Sofia, the project will include 5 restaurants, boutique retail and high-end residential units all with breathtaking views rising above the city skyline. We are excited to be embarking on this journey with such strong partners and we look forward to bringing the I Tower project into reality by the year 2020.”
I Tower Development JSC has been registered in 2016 as a Bulgarian Special-Purpose Vehicle established for the development of the project. The paid-in capital is €22 million (as of June 30, 2017). The company is entirely owned by Vittorio Gori and his wife through their Italian holding company Finvis S.r.l. Finvis S.rl. is active in the telecommunication and in real estate business, as well as in the production and sales of paper-based products.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is €3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s and “A2” by Moody’s.
Since the beginning of operations, BSTDB has signed 31 operations in Bulgaria with a total value of more than € 350 million.
