Businessman Radu Timis, chairman of the largest producer in the cold cuts industry, will go into the real estate business next year by building several blocks of flats in Bucharest.

"We will almost certainly enter the real estate market next year, because almost 90% of the investments we set out to make in our cold cuts factory will be completed this year. We have some plots of land in Bucharest where we will build studios and two or three-room apartments," Radu Timis, the group's chairman told ZIARUL FINANCIAR.

He did not provide further details on the project, merely saying that he would outline the strategy for development in the real estate business next year.

"We have several plots of land in various areas across Bucharest, which are not that large, just a few thousand square metres. These are plots of land that we knew when to buy; we are small players on this segment, anyway," Timis added. He says the focus of the company he runs will remain on the cold cuts industry. Radu Timis, 45, built one of the best-known Romanian food brands in ten years. The turnover of the CrisTim group exceeded 150 million euros last year.

Timis has received a number of offers to sell from investment funds and companies in the processing industry in Austria, the Netherlands and Germany over the last few years, but turned these offers down. CrisTim's chairman says he built this business for at least three generations.

The CrisTim group includes a construction company and two farms besides the cold cuts business.

The construction company has approximately 400 employees, who have until now worked for other companies of the group.

"Half of the employees will probably continue to build for the companies in the group, while the other half will do outsourcing. We have to get used to working for others, too. We've got offers for residential const