Reference is made to earlier stock exchange notices from Black Sea Property AS (the "Company", and together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the "Group").
As disclosed in the stock exchange notice of 14 December 2022, a loan agreement for a loan facility in the amount of EUR 7.5 million has been entered into between Group company EPO Aheloy OOD ("EPO Aheloy", the development and property-owning company for the Sunrise Gardens Resort) and Penchev Consult. Funds under the loan facility has only recently been disbursed, initially in an amount of EUR 4.5 million, due to negotiations with the Group's existing lender UniCredit Bulbank on handling of the outstanding amounts under the EUR 6 million loan owed by EPO Aheloy to UniCredit Bulbank.
EPO Aheloy is in the process of finalizing an agreement with UniCredit Bulbank on handling of the remaining EUR 6 million loan, whereby EPO Aheloy has made a principal payment of EUR 1.5 million (plus accrued interest) to Unicredit Bulbank and the remaining EUR 4.5 million (plus accrued interest) will fall due for payment in June 2023. EPO Aheloy should originally have paid a principal payment of EUR 3 million (plus accrued interest), with the remaining EUR 3 million (plus accrued interest) due for payment with EUR 1,5 million in December 2023 and remaining amount in December 2024.
Even though this amended loan structure implies a shorter term for the loan, the Company and its local Bulgarian partner, Mr. Boyan Bonev, believes that a refinancing of loan taken up with UniCredit Bulbank can be achieved within June 2023 at customary terms.
Consequently, the loan facility from Penchev Consult has currently been used to; (i) make the principal payment plus accrued interest to UniCredit Bulbank (with approximately EUR 1.8 million in total), and (ii) repay EUR 2.5 million to Boyan Bonev (i.e., to his holding company) in order to even out the ownership contributions towards EPO Aheloy.
However, EPO Aheloy has a requirement for additional new capital in the short term to finalize construction activities on the Sunrise Gardens Resort (the "Resort") and to facilitate expected capital requirements in connection with the abovementioned refinancing of the loan taken up with UniCredit Bulbank. The Company will therefore start assessing the possibility of raising funds in the amount of up to EUR 1 million for this purpose. In addition to the ongoing financing activities in relation to the Resort, the Company will also be looking to secure funding for its activities in Norway. The Company will provide further information on these financing activities in due course.
Further, the Group is in the process of planning and obtaining bookings for the summer season of 2023. The Resort will still be operated as a kids and family camp for the forthcoming season, and the Group is very happy to announce that the Resort is already close to fully booked for 10 weeks during the peak season. Full booking is based on a total of approximately 1,500 beds in the Resort, divided between the M and N buildings of the Resort.
Work is ongoing to increase activity and bookings during non-peak season. To this effect, the Resort has now been made available for booking at the leading online travel agency Booking.com and work is also ongoing for an updated webpage for the Resort.
This level of booking will provide a positive gross result in EPO Aheloy, and the Company will provide more detailed result estimates prior to the start of the summer season of 2023.
For further information, please contact:
Egil Melkevik, Chairman
Tel: +47 90 77 09 76
E-mail: em@ms-solutions.no
About Black Sea Property AS:
Black Sea Property AS is a real estate company with holdings in a real estate project on the Black Sea
coast called Sunrise Gardens. Sunrise Gardens Resort is a partially completed project and will upon completion comprise approximately 950 apartments as well as significant commercial space. Black Sea Property AS owns indirectly 75% of the project. Black Sea Property AS will work to finalize Sunrise Gardens Resort, to realize the project's added value through the sale of residential units and hotel operations.