The Moscow City Hall intends to seize the former site of the Czech PPF Group in New Moscow from the new owner Invest AG

A large construction site in New Moscow with an area of ​​1.2 million sq. m. m of housing, previously owned by the Czech PPF Group that left Russia, became the subject of a dispute. The capital’s mayor’s office, citing the fact that 130 hectares have been used for three years for other purposes, intends to seize the asset from its new owner – Invest AG of Evraz shareholders Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov. The authorities plan to sell the site at auction at a starting price of 14 million rubles. with a market valuation of 2–2.5 billion rubles. Kommersant’s sources admit that in fact we may be talking about an attempt to protect the asset from possible claims of former foreign owners.

The Moscow City Hall filed a claim with the Moscow Arbitration Court for the seizure of plots with a total area of ​​130 hectares in Konyushkovo in New Moscow through the sale at public auction, Kommersant discovered in the file of arbitration cases. The defendant is the owner of the asset, LLC ISK Klokovo. The mayor’s office also asked the court to impose interim measures on the property while the case was being considered, but was refused. The next meeting is scheduled for December 19.

The Moscow City Property Department told Kommersant that during the inspection it was established that the site had been misused for three years. They added that the owner was asked to eliminate the violations, but this was not done. Seizure of an asset through a judicial procedure will make it possible to involve it in economic circulation, the department hopes.

The mayor’s office has already asked the court to set the initial sale price of the site at 14.1 million rubles, which corresponds to its cadastral value. This is noticeably different from the market value, which Timur Ryvkin, director of the Nikoliers land development department, estimates at 2–2.5 billion rubles.

Initially 130 hectares in New Moscow, where, according to consultants, construction of 1.2 million square meters was planned. m of housing with an investment volume of 100 billion rubles belonged to the Czech PPF Group. In 2022, after the start of the Russian military special operation in Ukraine, the company began to sell off its assets. She sold this land to the structures of the ICT group of Alexander Nesis. They then resold the asset to Invest AG of Evraz shareholders Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov (see Kommersant on August 24). Invest AG did not respond to Kommersant’s request on December 18.

The PPF Group in the Russian Federation has practically only one real estate asset left – the Metropolis business center in the north of Moscow. The other day it became known that negotiations on the sale of this facility are at an advanced stage, and the Vedomosti newspaper names the logistics company Lidertrans from Kazan as a potential buyer.

Prior to this, the Czech group transferred a land bank in the Russian regions and the project for the construction of the Homecity complex in New Moscow to the same ICT group, and sold its largest commercial real estate property, the South Gate logopark (650 thousand sq. m) in the Moscow region, to Ventall Development “

This is not the first time that the site in New Moscow has become the subject of controversy. At the end of 2021, the St. Petersburg developer “Yard” Andrei Koshkin wanted to buy 130 hectares, but the deal fell through, and the counterparty demanded to recover 400 million rubles from PPF Group, but the court partially satisfied the demand – for 40 million rubles. (see “Kommersant” dated August 1). In July 2023, Yard filed a new claim for 297 million rubles. The next meeting is scheduled for December 21.

If the mayor’s office manages to seize 130 hectares in New Moscow through the court and sell them, then the current owner, explains Pavel Zhelnovod, managing partner of the law firm Nova Ink, will receive the proceeds from the auction, minus the costs of preparing and holding the auction. However, the expert believes, the defendant has a chance to challenge the starting price of the auction by convincing the court to order an examination to establish the market value of the plots.

According to one of the lawyers, the land owner may try to buy the plots himself at auction with the help of an affiliated legal entity. He admits that auctions are necessary to ensure that a foreign owner who has left the Russian Federation cannot return the plots if he returns to the country. However, Kommersant’s source clarifies, quite real market contenders may appear for the asset.

Daria Andrianova