Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, has completed the fourth in a series of mega real estate transactions in the Russian market.
Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, has completed the fourth in a series of mega real estate transactions in the Russian market.
Millhouse, an investment vehicle mainly owned by Abramovich, has completed the acquisition of the 64,000 m2 White Gardens in Moscow for an investment volume of around $800 mln (€593 mln).
Located just off Tverskaya Street, Moscow’s central corridor, White Gardens also provides 960 underground parking spaces. It is situated next to the White Square office complex, which Russian investment vehicle 01 Properties acquired late last year for $1 bn.
John Mann of Millhouse said: 'We believe that the experience of the development team and the quality of building construction resulted in the creation of a first-class product that is in high demand in the market. Its investment attractiveness will only continue to grow over time.'
Both White Square and White Gardens were sold by a consortium led by Russian investment bank VTB Capital. The other members are TPG Holdings and China Investment Corporation, international developer AIG/Lincoln, and Coalco Development.
The White Square and White Gardens deals were facilitated by Jones Lang LaSalle. The broker's team also closed the acquisition by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing of the Galeria shopping centre in St Petersburg, business centre White Square and the Metropolis shopping centres in Moscow for around $1 bn a piece. Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing later sold a 50% stake in Moscow’s Metropolis Mall for €463 mln.
White Gardens has been designed to be 'green' with a focus on energy efficiency, environmentally friendly materials, and a construction process geared toward minimising environmental impact. The scheme is in the process of earning environmental certification from BREEAM.
Tim Demchenko, global head of private equity and special situations at VTB Capital, noted: 'This deal completes a series of successful transactions in the real estate sector executed by the private equity team at VTB Capital that has already carried out the acquisition and subsequent sale of the Lesnaya Plaza and White Square business centres. Investment in premium commercial real estate assets located in Moscow and, in particular, the White Gardens office center, has helped to bring high returns for our bank. In the future, we will continue to consider participating in real estate projects in Russian and international markets.'
