GE, Quinlan Continue Bulgarian Retail Spree

PLOVDIV, BULGARIA-A partnership of GE Real Estate and Quinlan Private has teamed up for another helping of retail real estate in this Central European country. After securing the Mall of Sofia last year for $112 million, the groups have agreed to buy the Mall of Plovdiv, a 240,000-sf complex under construction in the country’s second largest city.

“We regard retail in a rapidly growing economy such as Bulgaria a compelling investment opportunity,” says Peter Donnelly, a principal of Quinlan Private, in a release announcing the Plovdiv pact. The asset should be further enhanced, he says, from ascension into the European Union, increased investment among foreign players and needed infrastructure upgrades.

Dublin-based Quinlan Private will continue to identify and acquire “similarly attractive assets” in Bulgaria, says Donnelly, whose firm is acting on behalf of several investment funds. Quinlan Private and GE share a 50/50 ownership platform in the Plovdiv property, similar to the deal in Sofia. The partnership declined to provide any financial details on the latest investment, but one estimate puts the transaction at more than $60 million.