Gazprom will drill in the Champ de Mars
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The project to reconstruct a building in the center of St. Petersburg into a luxury hotel with 117 rooms and 52 apartments, which belonged to the Bank of St. Petersburg, was transferred to the structure of Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP). Investments in opening a hotel are estimated at 6–7 billion rubles. But, despite the location in a tourist place, the project looks economically unfeasible due to the long payback period, experts believe.
The Gazprom structure acquired a hotel project on the Field of Mars in the center of St. Petersburg, three sources in the real estate market told Kommersant. In January 2024, Alexander Kulikov, the namesake of the former top manager of REP Holding (part of Gazprom Energoholding), became the general director of the hotel developer, Lotus Hotels LLC, as follows from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. Gazprom and AM-Invest (manages the closed mutual fund Nevsky – Seventeenth Fund, which owns Lotus Hotels LLC) did not answer Kommersant’s questions. Bank St. Petersburg, which previously owned the hotel project, declined to comment.
In a building with an area of 24.7 thousand square meters. m on the Champ de Mars, Lotus Hotels are going to open a luxury five-star hotel with 117 rooms and 52 apartments, the company reports. Initially, the reconstruction of the historical site was carried out by Plaza Lotus Group, founded by the co-owners of the Ilim group, Boris and Mikhail Zingarevich. In 2011, the government of St. Petersburg entered into an investment agreement with the developer, allowing him to obtain the building without bidding. But in 2018, due to debts, the project went to Bank St. Petersburg, which was going to invest 5 billion rubles in completing the work. (see Kommersant-SPb dated October 31, 2018). The bank negotiated with the French Accor to use the Raffles brand, but the contract was not signed.
Sergei Duvanov, project manager of the investment department of NF Group in St. Petersburg, estimates the transaction amount at 5 billion rubles. To complete construction work, another 6–7 billion rubles may be required, estimated Rusland SP managing partner Ilya Shuravin. Most likely, the hotel will be launched in partnership with a Middle Eastern operator, since European and American brands have stopped developing in the country, and their Russian competitors cannot bring similar value to the project, he notes.
The building is located in a tourist location with attractive views, says Igor Kokorev, operational director of the Nikoliers strategic consulting department. In this place you can open one of the most premium hotels in the city, adds Alexey Musakin, CEO of Cronwell Management. But even with an average room cost of 50 thousand rubles. per day, the payback of the project will be 18–20 years without taking into account the cost of borrowed funds, estimates Ilya Shuravin.
Due to the long period of return on investment, the building is of interest “only as a trophy object,” Andrey Veresov points out. Most likely, it will be a corporate hotel where Gazprom’s top managers will live, he believes.
By selling the number of rooms, the economics of the project will be more attractive, believes Alexey Musakin. The cost of apartments in this location can be 1 million rubles. for 1 sq. m., which will be comparable to the most expensive objects in St. Petersburg, notes development expert Andrey Veresov. However, it is still difficult to call the project an investment project, since even if the price is 1.7–2 million rubles. for 1 sq. m, revenue from the sale of rooms will not exceed 12 billion rubles, summarizes Ilya Shuravin.
According to Nikoliers, over the past three years, the increase in supply in the hotel market of St. Petersburg has occurred mainly due to apartment complexes. In 2023, the number of rooms in this format of hotels increased by 1.6 thousand units, classic hotels – by 197 units. The general director of the management company Citytel, Andrey Petelin, explains the popularity of apart-hotels among developers with the ability to attract funds from private investors and shorter payback periods.
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