Real estate company Orco Property Group plans further expansion in Central and Eastern Europe, Czech Business Weekly reported. With its extended-stay hotel projects Orco is planning to enter Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Serbia next year. Ales Vobruba, Orco's senior vice president told CBW, that properties in this segment are missing in the region, as are seniors' retirement residences equipped with health services, which should experience a boom in the next few years.

The Luxembourg-based developer is planning to acquire a large residential developer in Poland and look for acquisitions on Hungary's residential market. Orco won a new investor last month, investment house Morgan Stanley, which has acquired an approximately 4% stake in the developer for EUR 15 M and has also subscribed for EUR 15 M in Orco's Endurance Fund. Voruba said the partnership could lead to establishing a new fund that they would manage together.

At the moment Orco Property Group's Endurance Fund, which was founded in July and already has two projects in Prague and Budapest, is about to close two acquisitions, Vobruba said. The value of Orco's portfolio at the end of 2004 was between EUR 250 million and EUR 300 million. Voruba estimated the value was likely to reach EUR 600 million by the end of 2005. "We believe the portfolio will grow at the same pace in 2006. That means that in one or two years, we could reach EUR 1 B."