Equest Sells Sofia Cinema Site Urvich to Bulgarian Realtor

Trans Balkan Investments Limited, known until recently as Equest Investments Balkans Limited, announced it has signed a preliminary agreement for the sale of Urvich, the former cinema site, with an unnamed Bulgarian real estate development company.

The deal was inked on 6 October 2010, the company said without disclosing its financial parameters.

Trans Balkan Investments Limited (TBIL) has been offloading assets from the portfolio of companies it owns in Bulgaria, including a few former cinema sites, in order to boost liquidity.

At the beginning of August TBIL sold Iztok cinema in the Bulgarian capital Sofia to Billa Nedvijimosti EOOD for EUR 1.43 M.

Now the company also reported that the sale of Evropa Palace, one of two remaining former cinema sites in Sofia, owned through its subsidiary, Pelican BVI, is expected to be finalized within the next few days, the gross proceeds amounting to EUR 1.5 M.

Equest Investment Balkans has been offloading its assets in Bulgaria over the past year and a half.

The investment company announced in the summer it is holding negotiations for the sale of TechnomarketDomo Group BV (TMD), currently 61.8% owned by TBIL.

At the end of December 2009 it sold the former Rodakar plant, a 12 300 sq m retail warehouse property in the coastal city of Varna, to Creditanstalt Bulus, part of Unicredit Leasing, in a EUR 9,93 M deal.

The company sold its controlling interest in Serdika, a development site in the center of Sofia. The total consideration payable in relation to the development amounts to EUR 9.175 M in cash, of which EUR 7.34 M is attributable to its subsidiary Equest Balkan Properties (EBP).

Earlier Equest also released its 21.2% share in the Bulgarian branch of the financial firm Uniqa International, as well as Avto Union.