In 2006, the company acquired some 10 hectares in the city of Ploiesti (60 km north of Bucharest), for a total €14 million. The plot was sold to British Lewis Charles investment fund, which was set to come up with the funds for a commercial center, in partnership with Westhill. However, the fund is currently facing financial problems, so the developer has borrowed €100 million from a U.S. bank, according to the company’s Chief Operations Officer, David Palmer, for Business Standard.
Authorization for the project was granted by Ploiesti local authorities and construction work is set to begin this fall. The total cost of the project is estimated at €140 mln, including land and infrastructure.
The center, set to be finalized in 2010, is likely to be sold. Its market value amounts to some €300 million, at a 7 percent yield, according to Westhill Romania Manager Andrei Panculescu.
He added that the company is currently negotiating the acquisition of a further six hectares of land in Ploiesti, where it intends to develop a mixed residential and office space project. Westhill also plans to build three other malls in the coming years, two in Romania and one in neighboring Bulgaria.
