World Bank invests 150 million euros in logistics projects in Bulgaria and Romania

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, invested EUR 150 million in Lion's Head Investments, AG Capital's platform for commercial real estate in Bulgaria and Romania. It owns and manages two office buildings in Sofia — Polygraphy Office Center and Megapark. The company also manages three buildings in Bucharest — Oregon Park A, B & C.

The fresh capital will be used for the development of new projects in Bulgaria and Romania. One of them is a new platform for logistics properties.

The development of logistics infrastructure and connectivity within regional and global production and supply chains are important objectives for Bulgaria and Romania in the current context," said Ari Nym, IFC's manager for Central and Southern Europe.

Getting a foothold in the Bulgarian market

Lion`s Head Investments entered the Bulgarian market in 2018 through the real estate group AG Capital, which together with the South African fund Old Mutual Property is an investor in the company. Shortly after, the company implemented its two major projects in Bulgaria - Polygraphy Office Centre and Megapark.

At Lion's Head, we have been working with Old Mutual for over five years now with great success. The addition of IFC as a new partner is a great recognition. The investment will allow us to execute our strategy by supporting the expansion of our operations in the region," said Hristo Iliev, CEO of AG Capital.

Partnership

AG Capital was established by Hristo Iliev 30 years ago and brings together a group of companies in the real estate sector. It currently operates and manages projects in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland. Its portfolio includes leading development companies - Park Lane (commercial real estate) and BLD and Ultima (residential real estate). It partners with international institutional investors as well as large private funds such as Apollo Global Management and Mitiska REIM.

The company's new partner is International Financial Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group and operates in more than 100 countries. In 2023, IFC is investing a record $43.7 billion to support the operations of private companies and financial institutions in emerging countries.

Old Mutual, which is also an investor in Lion's Head, is a public company that has been listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for 179 years. It is one of South Africa's oldest corporations with a presence in 14 countries, a market capitalisation of €3 billion and assets under management totalling €65 billion.

This article was translated by Kompreno with the support of DeepL.