The News UK media group will form a technology team in Sofia in partnership with Questers’ office in Bulgaria. The partnership will accelerate the strategic growth of the group behind some of the most powerful media brands in the English-speaking world, such as The Times, The Sun and The Sunday Times.

With the rapid increase in digital consumption, the technology division of News UK undertakes a major programme to build a new, flexible and efficient platform that will accelerate the process of digital transformation of the company and will meet today’s readers need for rich and interactive content across multiple platforms.

“The expansion of News UK into Bulgaria in partnership with Questers demonstrates the value of the Bulgarian market for UK digital innovation and continues to strengthen UK-Bulgarian bilateral ties,” Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Emma Hopkins OBE said in the official news release.

News Corp UK & Ireland Limited is a British newspaper publisher and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp.

Career opportunities within NewsUK’s team in Sofia are listed here.

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Questers announced yet another partnership with the fast growing FinTech company PremFina – a digital SaaS platform allowing flexible premium finance solution for insurance brokers, helping them to maximise control over customer relationships and increase revenue. As a result of an increase in demand for their solutions and services, PremFina is expanding its operations into Sofia, Bulgaria. The local team will bolster the development and test side of the company’s software application, including but not limited to the API layer and the core web services technology.

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Questers is a British IT company with an office in Sofia, mainly active in the formation of highly efficient teams of technology specialists for companies in Europe and the United States.

Cobuilder is an international company set up in Norway that develops innovative software products for the construction industry. In 2013, Cobuilder chose Sofia to establish its first subsidiary – Cobuilder International. With its initial team of two employees, the operations in Bulgaria were mainly related to data entry into information systems serving the Norwegian market.

In 2014, the team in Sofia expanded to 20 employees and was engaged in more and more key activities for the company. In 2015, the company started developing new products in Bulgaria and in the meantime opened offices in the UK and France. In 2017, Cobuilder International had more than 80 employees, and the company won the “IT Product of the Year” award of the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association (BOA) and BASSCOM. The award was bestowed for the company’s first software product, which was completely designed and developed in Bulgaria.

In 2018, with the 5th anniversary of Cobuilder International’s establishment, a rebranding project is being implemented, and the new visual and brand identity will be applied to the entire international group.

Lars Christian Fredenlund, CEO at Cobuilder, tells us what makes Sofia a place to launch and develop a successful business.

Please tell us briefly about your investments in Sofia? What does your company do in Bulgaria and abroad?

The Sofia-based company,Cobuilder International LTD, is part of the Cobuilder AS family – an international organisation based in Oslo, Norway. For over 20 years, Cobuilder has become a name in delivering innovative software solutions for the Norwegian and European construction industries. Since it was founded in 2013, Cobuilder International has been responsible for developing, improving and maintaining Cobuilder’s core products aimed at catering for the specific data needs of construction industry actors.

Cobuilder is focused on the development of comprehensive software solutions aimed at fast tracking of the digital transformation that will make big ideas such as Industry 4.0, Internet of Things and digital twins relevant to the reality of our client’s businesses.

Today, Cobuilder International is in the Top 5 most dynamic IT companies in Bulgaria*. We are set on a mission to revolutionise the ways construction data is handled worldwide and we have found the right resources to fulfil this mission, here in Sofia.

What made you choose Sofia as the place to invest?

First and foremost the talented and skilled people. We had some experience

DHL Express invested a total of EUR 10 million to open a new logistics center in Sofia. The facility covers an area of 10 000 sq. m. and is located close to Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport.  

The hub is equipped with high-tech automatic sorting system that will boost the processing capacity to 3000 parcels per hour. Loads will go through three courier channels for direct vehicle loading. Furthermore, the center has the latest generation of streaming lines, automatic weight and size verification systems, barcode readers and X-ray machines providing the highest level of security.

Currently, DHL invests in similar facilities in more than 40 countries around the globe. The largest automated logistics centers of the company are located in its main distribution hubs in Germany, Belgium, UK, Italy, USA (in Cincinnati) and China. The investment in Bulgaria aims to meet the growing volume of shipments processed by DHL Express in Bulgaria. DHL Express Bulgaria has over 300 employees working in the centers in Plovdiv, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo and Montana.

Globally, DHL runs a business with courier and cargo shipments in over 220 countries and employs over 360,000 people. In Bulgaria, the company has been active since 1981 and currently has 50 offices throughout the country.

The European division of the Japanese game developer Sega announced that it is relocating its quality assurance team from London to Sofia, Gamesindustry.biz reported. The move will take place over a two-year period, with the new Sega Development Services Sofia launching in June 2020.

“Bulgaria is a European leader for IT development, home to regional offices for some of the most renowned tech outfits in the world including IBM and Hewlett-Packard and has a history of technological accomplishment and innovation. It’s the perfect location to open what will become a best-in-class quality assurance operation with the capacity to expand,” the president of Sega Europe Gary Dale said in a statement.

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Sega Corporation is a software and hardware company created in 1940 in the United States, but now based in Japan.

While providing games for military bases, the company was called Standard Games, but, following a move to Japan in 1952, the company was renamed Service Games of Japan. In the early 1980s, Sega released its first console system, the SG-1000, which generated more than $200 million in revenue. Over the next few years Sega released more consoles beginning a serious competition with its main rival, the Nintendo console, for control over the video game market.

New companies entering the competition and poor sales caused Sega to abandon console development entirely in 2001. Sega has since focused on software design and worked as a third-party game developer for its most successful franchises, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, and Virtua Fighter.

“cargo-partner” opened its first office in Sofia in 2003. Following its development strategy, “cargo-partner” strengthened its position in the country with offices in Varna (2014) and Plovdiv (2017). The company launched its operations with a major focus on air transport, but the “cargo partner” management became quickly aware of the need to develop the full range of services – complete logistics solutions, including maritime, road and rail transport. The constant sustainable growth of the company is evidence of the team’s professional work.

The good results, as well as the increased demand for warehouse space, are the reasons why “cargo-partner” decided to invest in its own logistics base in 2017, which by 2018 is already working in its full capacity. The logistics center has 22,000 pallet spaces and is located on an area of 34 000 sq.m. “cargo-partner” did not stop with the expansion and additionally purchased a plot of land in the immediate vicinity of 31 000 sq.m. in September 2018. The company’s plans are to double the capacity of the iLogistic center. Its name carries the meaning of a center that collects and processes information, offers an integrated solution and creates innovations in logistics. Its construction required the efforts of a team of specialists, 8 months of construction work and an investment of 15 million euro. The building is modern, functional and equipped with a TAPA A security certificate. The location near the airport is predetermined by the company’s activities – “cargo-partner” has been in the top 3 of air freight forwarders in Bulgaria over the last five years. The location is also tailored to the convenient access of customers and employees through public transport within the city.

At present, there are 117 specialists in transport, logistics, sales and administration. Exactly people are one of the reasons why “cargo-partner” decided to invest in Bulgaria. Anton Stoykov, manager of the company for Bulgaria, named the other three key factors. One of the major advantages is the country’s key geographical location and the passage of 5 key transport corridors through its territory. Secondly, the fast and easy access to all European markets, as well as the good infrastructure that is constantly being developed thanks to EU investment. Last but not least, the industrial zones in Bulgaria are also among the reasons for the capital inflows from the parent company.

Over the past year, 32,000 items have been processed

Luxoft (NYSE:LXFT) is a global IT service provider of innovative technology solutions that delivers measurable business outcomes to multinational companies. Its offerings encompass strategic consulting, custom software development services, and digital solution engineering. Luxoft enables companies to compete by leveraging its multi-industry expertise in the financial services, automotive, communications, and healthcare & life sciences sectors. Its managed delivery model is underpinned by a highly-educated workforce, allowing the Company to continuously innovate upwards on the technology stack to meet evolving digital challenges. Luxoft has more than 13,000 employees across 42 offices in 21 countries in North America, Mexico, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, and South Africa. Luxoft is incorporated in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, has its operating headquarters office in Zug, Switzerland and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Aleksey Rubtsov, Managing Director at Luxoft Bulgaria tells us what makes Sofia a place to launch and develop a successful business.

Please tell us briefly about your investments in Sofia? What does your company do in Bulgaria and outside?

The Luxoft development center in Bulgaria was opened in February 2014 and to this date operates with approximate 300 IT specialists in Sofia office. Currently, the company business operations are focused on automotive software development and some line of businesses as banking and enterprise. The company is actively looking to scale their business and further expand on the local market.

What motivated you to invest in Sofia?

Demand for Luxoft’s engineering services and domain expertise are steadily increasing. Thus, the current pipeline has prompted us to expand our core presence in Central and Eastern Europe and to continue growing our global delivery model. Bulgaria is well known for its good technical education and it always was the center of IT of Eastern Europe. That among other, infrastructural benefits has attracted us to open a development center in Sofia. Accessibility in wide terms and developed talent pool convinced us that Bulgaria is a very good fit to Luxoft family and Sofia, in particular, has both great infrastructure and wealth of technical talent.

Are there other local and foreign companies here doing business in your sector?

Yes, plenty of companies those provide similar service to a wide range of clients all over the world.

What are the advantages of investing in Sofia?

Developed and cost-efficient infrastructure

What sort of difficulties have you faced so far?

Our business is all

The Swedish firm buys out 100% of the shares of Imperia Online in a deal worth €10 million. The Bulgarian studio is one of the biggest game production companies in Southeastern Europe with 25 released games, including the flagship title Imperia Online – a medieval cross-platform MMO strategy with over 40 million users worldwide.

Meanwhile, Stillfront is a network of independent developers, publishers and distributors. Imperia Online becomes the tenth subsidiary, joining previous acquisitions – the Hamburg-based studio Goodgame, the German sports management game OnlineFussballManager, the Dublin developer eRepublik Labs and the MENA publisher Babil Games, among others.

The acquisition is expected to be completed on October 11th. €5 million is payable in cash to Imperia Online’s former owners, while the other €5 million is payable in newly issued Stillfront shares. The value of the deal could raise to €27.5 million depending on the studio’s earn-out over the next three years.

The Bulgarian software company ScaleFocus announced the acquisition of 100% of the Sofia-based privately held Upnetix, one of the 50 worldwide certified Google development agencies. Upnetix specializes in mobile engineering, front-end development and design-driven digital transformation. Tagging the Upnetix team, ScaleFocus will strengthen its capacity and technical skills in mobile engineering, front-end and design-driven digital transformation.

ScaleFocus is a Sofia-based company, founded in 2012. Currently, the company operates with stand-alone offices in London, Munich, Zurich and Washington DC. ScaleFocus has two more offices in Bulgaria – in Plovdiv and Burgas – and is about to open a third one in Varna in October. As of September 2018 the company services medium and large-scale enterprise customers across North America and Western Europe, with a full-time staff of 500+ people.

Founded in 2015, Upnetix is a privately held JSC, currently having an engineering staff of 120 professionals. Upnetix is a major provider of custom client-tailored software solutions, the biggest mobile development studio in Bulgaria and is among the largest software outsourcing companies in South-Eastern Europe. The company provides the full range of software development and consultancy services, covering all stages of the product life cycle: strategy, business analysis, design and prototyping to development, quality assurance, deployment and post-project maintenance and support.

In 2017 Upnetix became the first and only company in SEE to become a certified Google Developer Agency. In both 2017 and 2018, it has been recognized as the fastest-growing technology company in Bulgaria in the TOP 100 Annual Ranking by ICT Media and Computerworld, which honors companies, headquartered in Bulgaria, that have experienced substantial growth over the last three years. It was named as the most dynamically growing company in the software and outsourcing sector in Bulgaria from institutions like Forbes and GSA.

The first part of the new logistics hub of the Danish household goods chain JYSK in the Bozhurishte Industrial Zone near Sofia will become operational as of this month. The construction works started in the summer of 2017, when the company announced its plans to invest EUR 100 million to build its fourth logistic center in the world in Bulgaria to supply its stores in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Serbia. The other centers of the chain are located in Denmark, Sweden and Poland.

Both the project and the construction were entrusted to Bulgarian contractors after a tender. The center includes two tall buildings with a total capacity of 121 632 pallets. The tall buildings reach 16 floors (42.5 m), making them the tallest warehouses in Bulgaria. The plot covers an area of 300 000 sq. m. and the built-up area – just over 90 000 sq. m. In addition to the tall bodies, the base also includes a transport corridor, a reception area, an Internet trade area, administrative buildings and parking lots. An average of 200 trucks will pass through the center daily.

Тhe two high bays of the distribution center are fully automated and no personnel will work there. The goods will be managed by 42-meter railroad cranes.

The new base will open around 300 new permanent jobs in the fields of transport, manual operation of goods, etc. The administrative team of the company in Sofia will also relocate to the center of Bozhurishte.  

The Danish chain has estimated that the warehouses near Sofia will save 10 million kilometers a year for supplies of goods in the Balkan region. A total of 270 chain stores in the Balkan countries will be served from here. JYSK has 18 stores in Bulgaria and another 14 new stores are planned to be opened by the end of this year.

The JYSK chain was founded in 1979 by the Danish tradesman Lars Larsen and today it has more than 2 500 stores in 49 countries. The group’s turnover totaled EUR 3.35 billion for the 2016/2017 fiscal year .

The article is based on information from Regal 100.

The Singapore-based Acronis, an international leader in cyber security and hybrid cloud solutions, has established its presence in Sofia following the acquisition of the Bulgarian company T-Soft. The two companies have been successfully collaborating since 2012, which motivated Acronis to further explore the investment opportunities for the establishment of its own unit of the company in Sofia.

Acronis has the ambition to gradually create one of the largest engineering offices in the technology sector in Bulgaria. The company starts operations with T-Soft’s team of 30 specialists and plans to expand its staff to 300 people in the next three years. The planned investment in the amount of EUR 43 million aims to develop a key R&D center in Europe with activities that are fully focused on cyber security. The company has already announced 20 job openings for qualified personnel in Sofia.

Why Sofia

The establishment of an R&D center in Sofia is part of Acronis’ plans to gain stable positions in Europe. After exploring a number of countries in the region for three years, including Poland, Romania, Serbia, etc., the team of Acronis chose Bulgaria due to the firm’s successful long-term partnership with T-Soft, the presence of qualified experts and the country’s membership in the European Union.

‘Acronis needs more engineers to develop innovative technologies to meet the growing need for cyber security. We are increasing our presence in Europe as part of our growth strategy on the continent and Sofia was a logical step for us. Here we already had a local partner with excellent engineers. We will continue to develop the successful work of the team here in order to expand our research and development operations in Europe. Sofia is a great place to access the numerous talented engineers in Europe’ – said Sergei Beloussov, founder and CEO of Acronis, in the official press release of the company.

Acronis’ operatitons in Sofia will continue to be managed by Plamen Toshev, current CEO of the acquired T-Soft. Today Acronis has more than 5 million users and 500 000 corporate customers in over 150 countries. Тhe largest markets for the company‘s products and services are Japan, the German-speaking countries and the United States.

How we helped Acronis

We are happy that the team of the Investment Analysis Department of Sofia Investment Agency was a partner in the process of establishing the Acronis Development Center in

The Munich-based financial software company Devexperts announced the opening of its development center in Sofia at the end of August. The company plans to build a team of 80 people over the next two years and has already rented a floor of Vertigo Business Towers in Sofia.

The company is working on software solutions in the field of capital markets. Its customers include banks, commodity exchanges, cryptographic exchanges, brokers and financial asset management companies. Devexperts has offices in Munich, Antalya and Porto. For its new development center Bulgaria has competed with Hungary and the Czech Republic. Sofia has been chosen for its qualified software specialists, better business conditions and excellent technological infrastructure.

Devexperts will appoint a team of specialists in ultra-fast algorithms for trading, big data processing, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. The company also plans to invest in educational programs at local universities and in the development of internship programs.

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Devexperts was founded in 2002 and has more than 400 employees around the world. The company has large units in Chicago, New York, London, Tokyo, Istanbul and Shanghai. Its products include online trading platforms, risk management tools and real-time data processing and analysis, as well as AI chat bots for brokers and investment managers. Devexperts provides 24x7x365 support and monitoring for its products and services worldwide.