First acquisition in Bulgaria
Plaza Centers N.V.
20 November 2007
20 November 2007
PLAZA CENTERS MAKES FIRST ACQUISITION IN BULGARIA
Plaza Centers N.V. ('Plaza Centers' or 'the Company'), a leading emerging
markets property developer, today announces that it has made its first
investment in Bulgaria through the acquisition of a retail development project
in Shumen, Bulgaria. The development budget for the new shopping and
entertainment centre is estimated to be €38 million.
Shumen, the largest city in Shumen County, is situated in the north-east of
Bulgaria, 80 km from Varna. The City of Shumen has a population of over 100,000
and is located within a larger catchment area of 205,000 people.
The development, which occupies a plot of 17,000 sqm, will comprise 18,000 sqm
of lettable retail space, and 20,000 sqm of parking, providing 600 spaces. The
Company anticipates that the project will be completed by late 2009.
This first investment in Bulgaria strengthens Plaza's position in South-East
Europe, following its recent acquisitions in Romania and Serbia. Plaza Centers
is currently developing five sites in Romania as well as two in Serbia.
Commenting on the deal, Ran Shtarkman, President and CEO, Plaza Centers N.V.
said:
'This acquisition represents an important milestone for the company as it is our
first investment in Bulgaria. Shumen, with a total catchment of over 200,000
people, is significantly undersupplied by the sort of high quality retail and
entertainment space that we specialise in developing. It is a further example of
how we have identified a developing market with a shortage of high quality
space. With high demand in Bulgaria for such a development, we expect this
project to generate considerable returns for our shareholders.'
For further details, please contact:
Plaza
Ran Shtarkman +36 1 462 7221
Roy Linden +36 1 462 7105
Financial Dynamics
Stephanie Highett/Laurence Jones +44 20 7831 3113
Notes to Editors:
Plaza Centers N.V. (www.plazacenters.com) is a leading emerging markets
developer of shopping and entertainment centres. It focuses on constructing new
centres and, where there is significant redevelopment potential, redeveloping
existing centres in both capital cities and important regional centres. The
Company is dual listed on the Main Board of the London Stock Exchange and, as of
19 October 2007, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (LSE: PLAZ, WSE: PLZ/PLAZACNTR) Plaza
Centers N.V. is an indirect subsidiary of Elbit Imaging Ltd. ('EIL'), an Israeli
public company whose shares are traded on both the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in
Israel and the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States.
Plaza Centers is a member of the Europe Israel Group of companies which is
controlled by its founder, Mr Mordechay Zisser. It has undertaken real estate
development in emerging markets for more than 11 years.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange