Blog

The outsourcing services and the IT sector have the capacity and the will to open another 45 000 work positions by 2020. Bulgaria and especially its capital Sofia, is a leading outsourcing destination in Europe and the IT companies are in search of talented specialists in the country. The interest shown towards Bulgaria is not new, since Bulgaria won the European Outsourcing Awards contest for 2015. The country has been nominated as one of the three best places for outsourcing of services and production in the world, along with South Africa and Latvia. Bulgaria has been chosen as the best outsourcing destination thanks to the professionals working here and their skills, knowledge of foreign languages and low expense rates. The country is part of the European Union, which is another plus as well.

The annual turnover of the outsourcing industry is 1 billion Euro and the expectations are for this figure to double by 2020. In the last decade the income of the IT companies has shown an increase of 600 %. At the end of 2014 more than 33 000 specialists have been working in 180 outsourcing companies in Bulgaria. The solid salary and the flexible working hours are drawing the attention of a growing number of graduates.

Since the middle of December 2015 Sofia has its brand new Technology and Innovation Network Center, planned to become the core for innovation and startup businesses in the country. The innovation center is an initiative of the state and is located in the ex-military center near the 4th kilometer in Sofia. It features a complex of several buildings, a park and a sports center. The new Technology and Innovation Network Center still needs a pedestrian access from “Tsarigradsko Schousse” Blvd. Approximately 35 000 sq.m will be added to the technology project by the end of 2016.

The purpose of the complex is not just to offer more offices and business buildings, but to be a hub for the technology companies, combining technologies, universities and education centers, science innovations. The aim of the Technology and Innovation Network Center is to gather in one place all those companies that are oriented towards the innovations, information and communication technologies, new and green energies, etc. The new Technology and Innovation Network Center plans to attract international scientists and investors.

The investor company FairPlay International has plans for the construction of a 10-storey office building in the center of Sofia. The company has already invested in the plot of the former Czech Republic Embassy, which spreads over 3.5 decares. The plot has a wonderful and easily approachable location on Yanko Sakazov Str., being meters away from Vasil Levski Monument and “Quadrant 500”, just opposite the former Serdika Cinema.

The plan of the investor is to construct a modern office building on the site of the old embassy, which is to be demolished. In the last couple of hours have been going on various administrative procedures for changing the status of the plot. Once the documents are arranged, the company can start the construction of the new office building. The project is for ten stories of offices with access to the boulevard. The area is very favorable, close to a large park and many places for dining out and yet featuring not many office premises. The region enjoys excellent transport connections, which will further turn the office building into a tempting business location. Interest towards the new office project in Sofia is already shown by companies in the insurance and in the financial sectors, which value the central location and the proximity to important state institutions.

The fourth phase of the Expo 2000 office complex has started and it is expected to bring another brand new 12 500 sq.m of offices of class A by September 2017. The SEO of Expo 2000 Office Park Adina Welsh, explained the that third phase of the Sofia office complex has been completed one month prior to the due date thanks to the great cooperation with the company Strabag. That third phase has got a Leeds Gold Certificate since August 2015, resulting in excellent optimization of the monthly expenses concerning water and electricity, etc.

That innovative green initiative will go on in the next phase of Expo 2000 Office Park in Sofia, aiming to improve the office environment. All the requirements for the offices of class A will also been taken into account. The managers of this office park in Sofia are expecting serious interest from many outsourcing companies that are already operating in Bulgaria or plan to outsource their business to Sofia. Phase 4 of the Expo 2000 Office Park in Sofia will offer 12 500 sq.m of high-quality office premises by the fall of 2017 and will come with a large underground parking area, many green areas and places for recreation.

The construction companies residing in Sofia are nowadays planning projects for the building of office centers. The new projects that they plan are inspired by the demand coming from the outsourcing and the IT industry. These companies have specific need and requirements at thee renting of office buildings and the construction companies now can arrange their projects in order to meet those needs. The outsourcing and IT companies have many employees, who require at last 7 sq.m. of office space. That means that all systems in the buildings should have a larger capacity, including the ventilation system, the air conditioning system, etc.

In addition to that, the large IT and outsourcing companies that are looking for offices in Sofia also need more premises for dining and naturally more parking places. The outsourcing companies that have chosen Sofia as the destination for their business are also interested in the maintenance costs that they will need to cover including fees for heating and ventilation, for cleaning of the office space, for electricity, for internet, etc. Serious attention is also paid to the good city location, the infrastructure of the area and the excellent transport links, as well as the available professionals.