The Annual Conference “Investments and Construction of Residential Buildings” was held on 16 May, as part of the Building Innovation Forum Series 2017. The gated complexes, which combine the high comfort and the amenities of the modernity with the pure sensation of living in harmony with the nature, proved to be of interest at the event. The living environment, the degree of completion, the functionality and the energy efficiency of the residential buildings are also crucial for the choice of the modern urban dweller. Galaxy Investment Group presented its new residential project, which is located in the greenest area of Plovdiv – Recreation and Culture Park. “The project consists of two L-shaped buildings with stepped structure. There is a courtyard with rich greenery, underground parking and ground garages. The conception includes modern European architecture with elegant look and light colors. The apartments are spacious and functional, and the regular shapes allow maximum use of the residential area. The project is designed for people with requirements and aspiration towards contemporary and balanced urban environment”, comments Stefan Karpuzov, Investment Manager of Galaxy Investment Group. The project is close to Mall Plovdiv, the rowing canal, kindergartens and schools. The area has new transport and underground infrastructure, and well arranged parks. The chosen location is suitable for high-class housing development. The dynamics on the housing market in Plovdiv will continue to grow with increasing demand of high-quality properties. Over the last years the city has become a center of attraction for the IT and BPO sector, which in addition to office spaces, is a premise for the demand of modern residences for young affluent people. Participants in the conference were leading investment companies, which united around the vision of the big compact city and the shared spaces. The idea of constructing the infrastructure of the new residential areas through public-private partnerships was also brought up as something to reflect upon.

The Mall has been the hottest spot on the Bulgarian coast for fashion lovers for years. For the tenth consecutive year, Royal Beach Mall in Sunny Beach opened its doors with new and popular brands. For many years the mall has been the hottest spot on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast for lovers of fashion and new trends. It is an attractive center for all who want to do quality shopping during their holiday. From sporting goods to a small black dress, from beach accessories to diamond necklaces, the mall's commercial mix is organized to meet the needs of every customer. This season, for the first time in Royal Beach Mall opens the Multi Brand Store VIP style shop offering the world-famous brands Versace Jeans, Love Moschino and Fracomina. Among the popular brands offered by Avenue Multibrand Store are Galvani, J.LO, Baldini, Gaudi, Steve Maden. Sports fans can find their favorite brands Timberland, FILA, Puma and Trespass at Rozini Sportswear and Adidas, Nike и Reebok in the newly opened Entersport shop. Bogner, Sportal M, O'Neill, U.S.Polo and Original Marines are among the brands, preferred by tourists. The latest collection of handbags and leather accessories can be found in Petek 1855 and Paula Venti stores, combined with Aquamarine, Sara Pen and GEOX shoes. Visitors to Royal Beach Mall can discover new fragrances at Paradox Shop, Bulgarian Natural Cosmetics from Rosa Impex and Refan, Natural Cosmetics from Israel at Kedem Store, and many other shops. Royal Beach Mall offers lot of additional services - from a children's center, a spa center and coffee shops, to thematic restaurants, including Red Lion - the preferred traditional English pub, The Americano Coffee House - the place where coffee lovers can enjoy aromatic caffeinated beverages, a KFC fast food restaurant, and a traditional Chinese restaurant. For its 10th anniversary, Royal Beach Mall has prepared additional discounts. More information can be found on the Royal Beach Mall website. Royal Beach Mall is located in the center of Sunny Beach, only 50m from the beach. It is part of the luxury five-star Barceló Royal Beach hotel, owned by the Galaxy Investment Group.

The competition is organized by Europa Property and was held in Bucharest on 6 April 2017. For the twelfth consecutive year, the most authoritative representatives of the industry from Southeastern Europe gathered to reward the best in construction and real estate. The assessment was made by an independent international jury. Nominated companies in SEE Real Estate Awards are evaluated based on their overall contribution to the market, the quality of customer service, innovation, commercial success and leadership. The leading investment companies NEPI, GTC and Globalworth were nominated along with Galaxy Investment Group in the category. In addition to the "Investor of the Year", investment company Galaxy Investment Group received a nomination in the category "Office project" for its project Office Park Plovdiv. ‘The nominations in prestigious European awards are extremely valuable to us because they are recognized by the biggest experts in the investment business for our contribution to the real estate sector. We take our involvement in the awards as a positive assessment of the Bulgarian business as a whole and increasing the role of our country as a preferred investment destination.’- commented Konstantin Boyadzhiev, CEO of the Galaxy Investment Group.

Mr. Boyadzhiev, how would you comment the development of the property market in 2016? This year the real estate market kept a steady growth, with particularly strong interest from the investors in the development of the office buildings segment. The significant demand by new and growing companies raised the investors’ confidence to develop new and to complete old projects. The tendency of the big cities outside Sofia, to become increasingly attractive to companies in the IT and the outsourcing industries remained in 2016, and resulted in increased construction of office spaces. More and more office projects are rented before they are finished. For example I would point out our project Office Park Plovdiv, which was 80 percent rented even before the building had a use permit. This excitement and interest of potential tenants has led to stable rental levels that ensure certainty for investors.  Plovdiv has become a preferred investment destination for IT and outsourcing companies. What is the reason for this interest?  Plovdiv is the fastest growing market for office space, as the city is preferred by investors because of its universities, and skilled workforce for the technological industries. Many of the companies working in the city have grown and more and more new companies are starting their business here. Major global brands in the IT and outsourcing sector are looking for high-quality offices and have a number of requirements for office space, which can be met only by a new building. The demand is mainly for open-space offices. I see these trends as a sign of confidence in the city among the business. This shows that the economic environment is predictable and stable. Let us not forget that Bulgaria is competing with the other countries in Southeast Europe, and we should endeavor to keep the high level of the country and continue to establish it as the best place for outsourcing. The development of this sector has led to an increase in demand for residential space. Galaxy Investment Group has plans to launch an attractive project in this direction and will soon announce the details of it. What are your predictions for 2017?  In 2017 the growth in the outsourcing industry is expected to continue, as more and more complex business processes with high added value will be exported to Bulgaria. I predict a good year for the cities outside Sofia, and Plovdiv will remain investment destination No. 1 for most companies. I expect this trend to encourage the investors, and more office buildings projects to be implemented. However, the decision on such an investment is not taken easily and needs serious technological time for research, design, funding and of course implementation. Investors will continue to focus on buildings that have the potential for higher returns. These are already completed buildings or those that are to be completed, with good location and the opportunity for long-term rental contracts. In terms of the housing market, I foresee steady growth in the sales at the initial stage of construction and interest from buyers in quality projects executed by proven investors. Bulgaria, and Plovdiv in particular, has become preferred location also for industrial investors. We hear more and more news on the starting of new productions. What is your forecast on the market with industrial prosperities? For industrial properties, as well as for any other, location is the most important factor. Large investors, who already have production in Bulgaria, are in themselves good advertisers and a strong motivating factor for other companies to come and to explore different regions in our country, as well as opportunities to build production bases. The dynamic development in this segment invigorates the property market as well. The new companies require good infrastructure, optimal production costs, and qualified workforce. The availability of these factors in Plovdiv and the region attract major global manufacturers. The transformation of the city into the industrial capital of Bulgaria, in turn, is a magnet for other businesses and is the basis for development of other sectors of the economy. So I remain optimistic and my forecast is for a steady growth in all segments of the property market.  Source: Economy Magazine 

The event took place on 25.03.2017, hosted by Galaxy Investment Group, and was abundant with useful information on the expansion of the industrial production in the region. The purpose of the event was to introduce representatives of the business from the whole of Bulgaria, to the advantages of Plovdiv and the region, as preferred location for growing number of industrial investors. Topic of discussions were the difficulties and the challenges of the industrial productions, but also the benefits and the positives reported by the companies after the construction/expansion of their production facilities in Plovdiv. The informal networking event, followed by a cocktail party, was attended by 120 representatives of member-companies from Plovdiv and the country, including EVN, ABB, Devnya Cement, DB Schenker, Kemmler Electronic, Agromil Bulgaria, Filcab, Oskar Rüegg Bulgaria and many others. The meeting was opened by Dr Mitko Vasilev, CEO of GBCIC, Dr Mariana Cholakova, representative of GBCIC in Plovdiv, Mr. Stefan Stoyanov, Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv and Mr. Martin Dragoev, Investment and Sales Director at Galaxy Investment Group. Moderator of the meeting was Mrs. Lidiya Shuleva, Chair of the Specialized Industry Commission of GBCIC. The objective of the open discussion was to inform the participants how Plovdiv managed to become one of the most significant industrial centers not only in Bulgaria, but also in the Southeastern Europe. During the last years, the city has been giving some of the best examples in the country of how to develop sustainable economy. According to the data provided by Plovdiv Municipality, half of the local economy is concentrated in the industrial production. Deputy Mayor Stefan Stoyanov also confirmed, that the industrial zones near Plovdiv offer excellent conditions for business and good tax preferences. The average salary growth is steady, and the region successfully attracts industries with higher added value and technological companies from Europe and the whole world. The shortage of qualified personnel, as a challenge, and in a sense limitation for the business in Plovdiv, the construction of the necessary infrastructure and the relations and interaction with the institutions, were among the main topics of discussion. Georgi Stoev from Industry Watch Bulgaria emphasized that he does not believe in the shortage of personnel on the market – according to him, after certain levels of pay are reached, this shortage will be quickly resolved. Stoev also commented that Plovdiv has the fastest growing price of labor among the big cities in the country: about 8% annually. Zlatan Kitanov, Executive Director of Würth Elektronik, stated that the main challenge for his company is finding personnel with technical and management skills and qualification, as well as unqualified staff. Krasen Krastev, Executive Director of Mecalit Bulgaria, touched on the problem that the young people lack even theoretical experience, and those with real practical knowledge are not more than 1-2% of all job applicants. Kiril Hristov, Executive Director of Yuri Gagarin AD, agreed with Georgi Kostov from Industry Watch, that the problem is not exactly the lack of workers, but the existing working conditions and the finding of the relevant specialists, and confirmed that his company envisions 8% increase of the remunerations for this year. Martin Dragoev from Galaxy Investment Group commented on the industrial zones, which allow the investors to set up their production in the region in an easy and unencumbered way. Dragoev presented a new project – Industrial Park Markovo, which will develop Plovdiv southwards. The project gives opportunity to the potential investors to buy land plots, which are accessible by road, have infrastructure and are at stage, which allows immediate investment.

On March 16, 2017 in Plovdiv, was held a seminar "Opportunities for SMEs - Finance and Employment". The event was organized by Confindustria Bulgaria in cooperation with the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency, the Employment agency and hosted by Galaxy Investment Group. The seminar was opened by His Excellency Stefano Baldi, Ambassador of Italy in Bulgaria. He described the problem of finding skilled workers for the industry as critical, but on the other side accepts it as an opportunity that will encourage entrepreneurs and institutions to find a long term solution. Mila Nenova, Director of the Association of Italian companies in Bulgaria - Confindustria Bulgaria, presented activities of the organization to companies. Martin Dragoev, Director Investment and sales of Galaxy Investment Group, presented investment opportunities suitable for development of industrial projects. The interest was focused on "Industrial Park Markovo", on its convenient location on the Ring road of Plovdiv and well developed infrastructure. Veselina Velcheva, Regional Representative for the regions of Plovdiv, Pazardzhik and Smolyan to the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency, presented the priorities of the Agency and implemented tools to support the business in Bulgaria. Kremena Kalcheva, Director of the "Employment Services" Department of the Employment Agency, presented different programs of the Agency to support the finding of workforce according to the specific needs of manufacturers and programs for financing of workforce trainings. The companies used the opportunity to discuss their needs for work force.