Dhalia has become the first real estate agency in Malta to establish itself and inaugurate a branch overseas. The first Dhalia overseas office was in fact inaugurated last week in Vitosha Boulevard, Sofia. By 2009 Dhalia Bulgaria, will be operating from eight to ten offices situated in the major cities of Varna, Burgas, Smoljan, Plovdiv and Gabrovo.

The Dhalia office in Sofia was inaugurated by the company’s chairman and CEO Franco Valletta accompanied by a team of managers from the group who visited Sofia to oversee the soft opening of this first branch. Dhalia has already recruited a Bulgarian manager and nine consultants, who earlier this month were in Malta to undergo a two week intensive induction course. By January 2006, the Dhalia Bulgarian team is expected to consist of a team of nine property consultants, a manager and an office assistant.

Speaking on his return from Sofia, Mr Valletta said that “the first six months of operation will be dedicated to setting up a good property database and identifying the best sales and marketing strategies to be adopted for this new market. In Bulgaria we will be selling, marketing and promoting Bulgarian property to the locals as well as Maltese. We will also be promoting the same properties through our strategic partners in the UK, Germany and Dubai. The property market in Bulgaria is still in its infancy stage, so like many eastern European countries it offers huge opportunities for growth. During our research of the Bulgarian market we have seen an influx of overseas investment in the property market, which encouraged us to continue in our pursuits.”

Mr Valletta added that “we are very excited to be carrying the Dhalia brand overseas by inaugurating a fully-fledged branch office in Sofia. Dhalia’s internationalisation follows a reengineering and re-branding process of the group’s business. Now that operations are consolidated we can look at overseas expansion with a lot of enthusiasm.”