During the first half of 2017 demand and supply of modern retail space in Bulgaria have been aligning with each other, according to a new research by Colliers International. During the period, modern shopping centers retail space supply balanced with demand by keeping its previous levels of 791,760 sqm in the country and 406,660 sqm in Sofia. Together with this for a few periods now, retail space absorption has been steadily going up. During the last half-year period, it recorded an 11% increase, providing for demand - supply balance. 

South African fund Hystead has acquired of The Mall, one of the largest shopping centres in Bulgaria, located in the capital city Sofia. The acquisition, upwards of €156 million, represents the fourth investment in the region by Hystead Limited, a joint venture between Hyprop Investments and Homestead Limited, who previously acquired the Delta City shopping centres in Podgorica and Belgrade alongside Skopje City Mall in Macedonia at the end of 2016. 

Through its subsidiary NEPI has concluded agreements to acquire the Serdika Center and Serdika Office buildings in Sofia, Bulgaria for €207.4 million.

Arco Real Property Holdings, a joint venture between Arco Capital and Deutsche Asset Management's DB Private Equity & Private Markets group, has decided to develop and construct a new office building in Business Park Sofia (BPS). The investment volume for this new building will be around €30 million.

Zeus Capital Partners LP, a private equity fund managed by Zeus Capital Management has sold Kambanite Business Centre (KBC), located in Sofia, Bulgaria, to a group of undisclosed European institutional investors. This is the Fund’s largest portfolio investment, which was acquired at the end of 2011.

Large leases and the rebranding of City Center Sofia marked the Bulgarian retail property market in the third quarter. The demand for prime space remained strong fuelled by the increasing consumption in the main cities, while the supply didn’t change. Fashion and shoes, as well as health & beauty were the most rapidly growing categories in terms of new stores. The FMCG sector was driven mainly by the appetite of the fast growing retailers to occupy the niche vacated with the exit of Carrefour and Penny Market, as well as the reorganisation of Piccadilly. Forton has published its Bulgaria retail market snapshot for Q3 2016.

The Bulgarian investment market saw a number of positive developments during the first half of 2016, according to the latest Colliers’ report. Part of the good news is that for the first time since 2012, income-generating transactions prevailed (85%) over speculative (15%).

The latest Colliers report reveals a stable retail property market in Bulgaria during the first half of 2016. Modern shopping centers in Sofia retained the absorption levels from the previous period – nearly 15,000 sqm of leasable space, compared to 16,370 sqm in the second half of 2015. In well-established projects enjoying active demand, this equals to an average share of 4% from the GLA.