Bulgarian Farmland Funds Amass 71 000 Ha

Bulgarian real estate investment funds (REITs) focused on arable land have accumulated 71 000 ha, according to the latest market data, which also showed that the biggest special purpose vehicles were boosting their market share.The biggest REITs were the most active buyers, while their smaller competitors were more cautious and purchase smaller plots. The three biggest REITs - Elana Agricultural Land Opportunity Fund, Advance Terrafund and Agrofinance, own 86% of the total land portfolio.Elana's fund owns 28 200 ha, just ahead of Advance Terrafund with 24 300 ha and Agrofinance with 8700 ha. In July, the Elana fund consolidated its new farmland plots at an acquisition cost of 2910 leva a ha versus 3590 leva a ha for Agrofinance.Advance Terrafund has agreed the best lease rates at 140 leva a ha. The company raked in 2.11 million leva in land lease revenues in the 2007/08 farm year. The Elana fund has agreed 129 leva a ha and has forecast land lease income at 2.34 million leva.Arable land in the north-central and northwestern regions make up the bulk of the funds' portfolio.