BLD has announced officially its expansion of operations to Poland. The company established presence recently with a registered local company, BLD Homes Sp. z o. o., and opened an office in Warsaw. The new entity will be headed by Ivaylo Mishev, Director Central and Eastern Europe at BLD.
Having joined BLD in 2022, Ivaylo Mishev has more than 15 years of experience in working with foreign investors and on projects abroad, mainly in the real estate development sector. He will be navigating BLD’s international operations, starting off with Poland this year as a first destination.
Commenting on BLD’s launch in Warsaw, he said: “The choice of Poland is the result of more than 2 years of market analysis, during which we explored several European countries as potential destinations for our expansion. The reasons are many and complex, but I would like to highlight the major ones – the Polish market is 5-6 times larger than the one in Bulgaria and is characterised by an exceptional level of decentralisation, similar to the developed Western countries. Merely 7-8% of the population of Poland lives in Warsaw (compared to 30% in Sofia, Bulgaria) and there are at least another 6-7 highly-developed and independent agglomerations with a population of over 400-500,000 people.
Over the last 15-20 years, Poland has experienced rapid economic development and has succeeded in attracting quite a significant amount of foreign capital and investments. Our countries are also very similar in culture, traditions, language and even in building standards.”
As a primary goal in Poland, BLD will be looking to purchase, or invest in a project, within the first year of its local operations. The team is already working on establishing relations with local partners, including consultants, lawyers, appraisers, developers and architects. A number of potential investment projects are currently being considered, with negotiations launched already with several owners.
Poland is definitely the right choice for BLD to start its expansion abroad. It comes also as an excellent opportunity for the company to diversify its investments by entering new asset classes that have not yet been developed in Bulgaria, and to gain traction in new areas of specific know-how and expertise. These include PRS (Private Rented Sector), PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation), co-living, super luxury apartments in skyscrapers, repurposing of old office buildings into apartments and more.
“By investing in Poland we will have the opportunity to establish contacts, build relations and joint business ventures that would further give us access to a significant capital resource and opportunities to invest in even larger projects”, says Ivaylo Mishev.
With an office in one of the iconic skyscrapers located in Warsaw’s central business district – Q22 on John Paul II Blvd, BLD will be working to promote and affirm its quality brand and create a structured team of professionals.
The perspective for the next 3-5 years envisages at least 2 completed projects and a portfolio of other investment properties for development. This is to serve as a solid basis for the next big step of expansion to other major cities in Poland and more CEE countries.
“Of course, given everything that is happening in the world right now, we are carefully following the latest developments and attitudes on the international investment markets in adapting our short-term strategy. In the long term however, we do believe both in our own capabilities and expertise, as well as in the huge potential that the Polish and CEE markets have to offer”, adds Ivaylo Mishev.
BLD is AG Capital’s residential investment and development company, delivering for over 15 years contemporary urban projects, marked by supreme and lasting quality, safety and low operating costs in exploitation. The company takes pride in more than 15 award-winning and landmark buildings in Sofia, with over 1 200 houses and apartments of high-end design, that come to add real investment value and benefits for their owners. The latest residential projects on track to be completed soon in Bulgaria’s capital include MONA 3, AVIVA and STELLAR.
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