Lion's Head prepares to purchase new office buildings in Bucharest and Sofia

Lion's Head Investments, an investment fund formed through a partnership between South Africa's oldest life insurance firm, Old Mutual, and Bulgaria's largest real estate agency, AG Capital, will borrow EUR 150 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, for asset acquisitions and the development of new projects in Bucharest and Sofia. The company currently owns and operates two office buildings in Sofia and three in Bucharest.

The South Africans also announce their interest in expanding into the logistics sector in Bucharest. "We are following our long-term expansion strategy; therefore, we are taking another step in the development and implementation of our plans in the logistics sector. We are currently focusing on both acquisitions and development projects," said Alina Necula, country manager in Romania of Lion's Head Investments.

“We believe the time is right for expansion, both in the office and logistics markets. Although most developers are now hesitant to start new projects, due to geopolitical uncertainties, high inflation, rising energy costs, our expectation is that yields will remain stable until the market settles down and the interest rate situation stabilises. Moreover, we expect rents to increase due to the dynamics of supply and demand and also given the current limited supply of new stock, as well as the existing problems with building permits in Bucharest," adds Alina Necula.

Source: Profit.ro