Better than offices
In the office segment, according to CBRE at the end of 2018, the share of foreign capital was about 20%, in the IFC segment — about 14%, about 11% and 8% — in the industrial segment and hotels, respectively.
According to the estimates of analysts, the majority of transactions in commercial real estate last year took place with equity from the CIS countries. Western investment accounted for about 25%. Significant role in the formation of this indicator was played by the acquisition of real estate by end users. So, Leroy Merlin acquired K-Rauta stores and Horus company owner Sergey Gordeev has sold Moscow shopping center Riviera to Kyrgyzstan KLS Eurasia Venture Fund. These deals became the most significant in the past year.
However, regarding the deal with the Riviera shopping center, expert opinions were divided. Leading international market players are quite skeptical about this purchase, considering it looked like shifting money from one state pocket to another. Experts estimate the deal at 350 million dollars.
In addition to investors from neighboring countries, buyers from China, Turkey, Japan and Qatar are also showing the greatest interest in retail real estate in Russia.
In particular, by the end of 2019, Qatar Airways expects to close the deal on the purchase of 25% of Vnukovo Airport. Wherein the investor relies on the aviation hub retail zone. Chinese investment giant Fosun Eurasia Capital, as well as a number of private investors from Kazakhstan, are also considering commercial real estate in Russia. From Europeans, the possibility of expanding their portfolio at the expense of similar investments a year earlier studied the company Raven Russia. This German investor intends to invest 628 million euros in Russia.
“The focus on the Russian market is now mainly paid by Eastern and Asian investors, primarily for political reasons. Western investment funds over the past few years left the Russian real estate market“, — explains Mikhail Shaposhnikov, director of RealJet’s strategic consulting department, recalling Atrium European Real Estate, Heitman, Immofinanz and the Sponda Foundation, who, due to sanctions and tense political relations, considered it too risky to continue business in our country. However, as noted Shaposhnikov, the eastern capital in Russia becomes entirely more. “This interest is especially intensified in 2017, when a number of Asian investors — Chinese Fosun Group, Vanke, the Arab Mubadala Development Company, and others — signed a few deals with Russian partners“. v
Malls for investment
75 | SHOPPING CENTERS RUSSIA | JANUARY 2019
Russian retail real estate remains very interesting for western investors, market experts say. In the total volume of transactions with commercial real estate objects with the participation of foreign capital in Russian retail real estate accounts for more than 50%.
Foreign investment funds
have moved to point transactions in Russia