Commercial property developer Parkridge wants to build the second mall in the town of Veliko Turnovo and has already held talks with mayor Roumen Rashev on the issue, Dnevnik daily reported on April 21.
Parkridge is ready to invest 30 million leva in a multi-purpose commercial project, which would spread on a plot of around 1.5ha, Rashev said, as quoted by Dnevnik.
In February, Parkridge founder and chief executive John Cutts was quoted saying that the developer would continue expanding in Eastern Europe, most notably in Bulgaria and Ukraine. In Romania and Russia, the firm would develop industrial areas, he said at the time. Parkridge is already firmly entrenched on one Eastern European market, namely Poland, where it has eight retail projects in the works or completed.
Parkridge's plans for Bulgaria are focusing on towns with a population of 100 000 to 200 000, where competition for retail space is still limited. Veliko Turnovo already has one mall, built by fellow British investor European Convergence Property Company, which is now looking to sell the mall.
John Cutts, who owns a 40 per cent share in Parkridge, ranked 229 in the UK's rich list, has a personal fortune of 320 million pounds, according to The Sunday Times ratings for 2007.
