The leading European bank and the stock exchange welcomed cohort 2 in ELITE UniCredit CEE Lounge

The second cohort of companies has now joined ELITE UniCredit CEE Lounge (www.elite-growth.com), the programme which supports the development of promising companies in the CEE region.

The cohort includes Bulgarian companies too. The first of them which operate in Bulgaria and were selected for ELITE are Kuminiano Fruit and APS.

Kuminiano Fruit deals in buying, processing and conserving cherries as a raw material for the food industry. The second Bulgarian company, APS, works in the field of electronics, in particular manufacturing printers and parts for them.

The cohort includes also clients of UniCredit from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

“It is our great pleasure to join forces with London Stock Exchange Group in order to ensure developing companies in the CEE with access to training and consultancy services which will prepare them for their next stage of development. ELITE UniCredit CEE Lounge is intended for the companies which will change the market in the near future. UniCredit believes in the potential of small and mid-sized enterprises in CEE. Supporting their development, the bank seeks to reaffirm its position of a trusted partner which provides innovative services and supports their growth“, said Carlo Vivaldi, Head of CEE, UniCredit.

At the end of last year UniCredit Group signed an agreement with London Stock Exchange Group, whereby the bank joined in as the programme’s strategic partner for CEE. The partnership aims to position the innovative ELITE platform as partner in the development of growth companies in the region. ELITE UniCredit CEE Lounge enables companies to prepare for their next stage of development, be it raising of equity finance through a stock exchange, a strategic partnership or limited growth.

The initiative supports companies through a series of workshops, selected so as to reflect on company-specific issues and provided via access to an interactive platform, whose purpose is to prepare the companies for the next step of their development. Another way in which companies are supported is through their opportunities for networking with investors and with other ambitious and dynamic European companies.

Only for clients of UniCredit Group there have been developed workshops tailored to the needs and opportunities for CEE companies. UniCredit Group was selected as partner of London Stock Exchange Group’s ELITE due to its position of a leading financial institution in the region. The banking group received 9 awards for achievements from the prestigious financial edition Euromoney, one of which was for “Best Bank in CEE”.

Since its creation in 2012, the ELITE programme has enabled over 340 companies from all over Europe to unleash their potential. The fast-growing community of the programme includes over 150 consultants and 90 investors.

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Beatris Nikolova, Phone: +359 2 9232 528, cfbusjt/ojlpmpwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch