Doing Business in Veliko Tarnovo

The Veliko Tarnovo Economy

The Institute for Market Economics groups Veliko Tarnovo with Gorna Oryahovitsa, Lyaskovets, Zlataritsa and Polski Trambesh in the Veliko Tarnovo economic centre. It produced BGN 2.93 billion of output in 2021, and its value added grew by 90% in ten years, slower only than the centres around Plovdiv, Sofia and Kardzhali. The economy is spread out: Veliko Tarnovo generates 65% of the value added, Gorna Oryahovitsa 20% and Lyaskovets 11%.³

Source: Institute for Market Economics: Veliko Tarnovo economic centre³

Manufacturing and Confectionery

The largest employers are spread across the centre. The Arkus weapons factory in Lyaskovets employs 1,600 people, and the confectionery industry is shared between Prestige-96 in Veliko Tarnovo, Sugar Plants in Gorna Oryahovitsa and Grestcommerce in Lyaskovets. Extrapak, Megaport and the Apollo-95 textile factory are also large employers.³

Kronospan, which makes particleboard and MDF at its Veliko Tarnovo factory, is carrying out a €20 million programme to cut emissions, with work in progress in September 2026.⁵

Investment and Industrial Zones

Armaco Industries, a Bulgarian maker of metal and plastic components founded in 2016, plans to invest more than €50 million in expanding its factory in Lyaskovets, as reported in October 2026.⁴

Foreign direct investment in the economic centre was €30 million at the end of 2021, €22 million of it in Veliko Tarnovo, while spending on land, buildings and machinery reached BGN 345 million in 2021. By 2024, foreign investment in Veliko Tarnovo Province reached €1,596 per person.^3,8

The municipality’s Western Industrial Zone has been upgraded in a BGN 2 million project under the Regions in Growth 2014–2020 programme, with new street surfacing, access roads to company sites and 200 road and direction signs.⁶

Workforce, Universities and Salaries

• Veliko Tarnovo is home to St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo and the Vasil Levski National Military University.
• Veliko Tarnovo Province has 74.9 university students per 1,000 residents, and 32.8% of residents aged 25–64 have a university degree.
• 56,000 people were in work in the economic centre in 2021, 33,300 of them in Veliko Tarnovo, and more than 3,000 commute daily to the city, 1,800 from Gorna Oryahovitsa.
• Unemployment in Veliko Tarnovo Province averaged 5.16% in 2025, and 75.9% of residents aged 20–64 were employed.
• The average gross salary in Veliko Tarnovo Province was €1,063 a month in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Source: Veliko Tarnovo Municipality: Invest in Veliko Tarnovo; Institute for Market Economics: Regional Profiles, Veliko Tarnovo Province; Institute for Market Economics: Veliko Tarnovo economic centre; Ministry of Labour and Social Policy: Labour market bulletin, fourth quarter of 2025^7,8,3,2

Transport and Location

Veliko Tarnovo lies on Bulgaria’s central north–south axis, which links it with Ruse. The municipality proposes treating Veliko Tarnovo, Gorna Oryahovitsa and Lyaskovets as a single investment destination, combining Veliko Tarnovo’s workforce with industrial land in the two neighbouring towns.⁷

Registering a Company in Veliko Tarnovo

Bulgaria has one national Commercial Register, so a company based in Veliko Tarnovo can be filed online from anywhere with a qualified electronic signature, or on paper at the Registry Agency’s Veliko Tarnovo office. After registration, the company deals with the Veliko Tarnovo office of the National Revenue Agency for tax and VAT, and with Veliko Tarnovo Municipality for local taxes and fees.^9,10

Source: Registry Agency: Commercial Register contacts; Council of Ministers IISDA: National Revenue Agency offices; Veliko Tarnovo Municipality: Contacts; Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Regional chambers^9,10,11,12

The full steps, documents, fees and timings are in the guide to registering a company in Bulgaria.