The network of Mega shopping centers may be sold to the structure of Gazprombank
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As Kommersant learned, the Mega shopping center chain, owned by the Swedish Ingka Centres, with a total area of 2.3 million square meters. m found a contender. Assets with an estimated value of $2.85 billion can be acquired by the structure of Gazprombank, which already has commercial real estate and has retained methods of settlements with foreign counterparties. The buyer will have to fill the spaces empty after IKEA left and solve the problem of reducing traffic, experts say.
The structure of Gazprombank has become the main contender for the purchase of Mega shopping centers from the Swedish Ingka Centers, two sources in the real estate market told Kommersant. According to them, the parties could already reach some agreements. Ingka Centers told Kommersant that the company is considering various options for Mega shopping centers in Russia, and this is a complex process that takes time. Gazprombank did not provide a comment.
Ingka is the largest owner of retail real estate in Russia. The company owns 14 Mega shopping centers in Moscow, Moscow region, Leningrad region and other regions with a total area of 2.3 million square meters. m. According to Forbes estimates, in 2022, the income of Ingka Centers in Russia from leasing space in Megas decreased by 19% year-on-year, to $285 million. Ingka Group also owns the manufacturer and seller of household goods IKEA. After the outbreak of Russian military operations in Ukraine, IKEA suspended the operation of stores in Russia, and then sold two local factories to the timber processing company Luzales, and a third enterprise to the manufacturer of interior materials and furniture Slotex.
The President of the Russian Guild of Managing Developers, Alexander Sharapov, estimates the cost of Mega shopping centers at $2.85 billion, excluding the 50% discount required for the government commission to approve the deal.
The sale of assets may also include a buyback option, he said. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the work of the government commission on foreign investment, did not answer Kommersant.
Gazprombank structures already have assets in the real estate market. In February 2022, GPB Asset Development purchased the Boulevard Ring business center with an area of 8.2 thousand square meters. m in the center of Moscow. Gazprombank-Invest owns the Gorod Kosino shopping center in Moscow, as well as the Mezon Plaza business center in St. Petersburg. In addition, strict EU and US sanctions were not imposed against Gazprombank, and the bank can carry out settlements abroad, which is critically important in this case, notes Alexey Vanchugov, managing partner of Vanchugov and Partners.
According to Alexander Sharapov, in the event of the purchase of Mega shopping centers, Gazprombank is unlikely to manage the facilities independently. Most likely, he believes, it can follow the path of Sberbank, which created a company to manage assets in the field of retail real estate, where employees of the Russian division of Ingka can go. Alexey Vanchugov adds that Gazprombank may also act in this transaction in the interests of a strategic investor or group of financial investors.
The main difficulty for the buyer of Mega shopping centers will be filling the empty spaces of departed brands and, in particular, the main anchor tenant of the entire chain – IKEA, notes senior director of CORE.XP Marina Malakhatko.
Although the president of the Union of Shopping Centers, Bulat Shakirov, believes that there will be no problems with renting out vacant premises. Mega was one of the first to come to Russia and during this time was able to establish its brand in the retail real estate market, he points out.
Alexander Sharapov notes that super-regional shopping centers with an area of 80 thousand square meters. m, which includes “Mega”, have generally lost popularity over recent years. “People used to come to IKEA, but after they closed, there was even less sense in going out of town,” he notes. According to the Focus Technologies Mall Index, which reflects the number of visitors per 1 thousand square meters. m of retail space, traffic in super-regional shopping centers in Moscow in January-August 2023 was 11% lower year-on-year, and traffic in district-scale facilities increased by 7% year-on-year.
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