Promsvyazbank will likely end up with a controlling stake in an office and expo center on Berezhkovskaya Naberezhnaya, where Nezavisimost Group is planning to locate a major Audi dealership.
Fifty-one percent of the company that controls the building at 20-22 Berezhkovskaya Naberezhnaya will likely be handed over to the bank during a restructuring, two real estate consultants told Vedomosti, without mentioning the names of the firms. The information was confirmed by a source from one side of the deal, who said it was not yet settled and that no documents had been signed.
The 37,000-square-meter building has 19,600 square meters of office space and about 17,600 square meters for a garage and showroom, according to City Hall documents.
The building was constructed by Garazhny Kompleks Plastik-2000, which is owned by Audi Tsentr Moskva, part of Nezavisimost Group, according to the SPARK database. The group had previously said it planned to put an Audi dealership there.
One of the real estate consultants said the sales room was rented for 10 years as an Audi dealership. Work is being done to prepare the space for its opening, said Lyudmila Zolotaryova, a spokeswoman for Nezavisimost.
Plastik-2000’s chief executive is Arkady Briskin, one of the founders and a former co-owner of Nezavisimost. Briskin currently has no ties to the company, Zolotaryova said. He left as a co-owner in 2007.
Briskin told Vedomosti that the talks were in a very early stage and directed inquiries to Promsvyazbank, as a confidentiality agreement had been signed with the lender. Spokespeople for the bank and Knight Frank, the broker for the property, declined comment.
Vedomosti was not able to find out the size of the Promsvyazbank loan in question, although one of the consultants said the debt was about $70 million.
Before the crisis hit, the property was worth about $200 million to $250 million, based on rates of $7,000 to $9,000 per square meter for the offices and $3,500 to $4,500 per square meter for the salon space, said Polina Kondratenko, director of the appraisal and consulting department of Colliers International.
Prices have since fallen by roughly half. But selling the property in its entirety would be difficult since demand for auto dealerships has fallen, Kondratenko said. Car sales have declined, and there are few players on the market, she said.
The country’s lenders have become increasingly major participants on the real estate market. Alfa Bank has taken a stake in the Gimenei shopping center on Bolshaya Yakimanka from Peresvet Group because of debt, as well as three properties from MIAN.
VTB now owns 1,200 hectares of land on Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse, which it received from Senator Sergei Pugachyov’s OPK in exchange for a $2.4 billion loan. It has also taken controlling stakes in Sistema-Hals and Don-Stroi-Invest, which controls Don-Stroi’s residential projects.
A consortium of Gazprombank, Goldman Sachs and Citibank recently received control of RosEuroDevelopment.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.