Business news from Ukraine

CHERDAK co-working centers were opened in business centers of Dragon Capital

As the press-service of the company informed Interfax-Ukraine, the co-working occupies more than 757 sq.m in BC Platinum (3A, M. Grishko Str.) and 1017 sq.m in BC Eurasia (75, Zhilyanskaya Str.).
According to the press service of CHERDAK, the cost of a non-fixed workplace is $150/month, fixed $190/month, single entrance – 300 UAH.
CHERDAK network of co-working centers plans to expand its activities in the office facilities of Dragon Capital, negotiations are now underway.
Dragon Capital is one of the largest investment and financial services groups in Ukraine and provides a full range of investment banking and brokerage services, private equity, asset management for institutional, corporate and private clients. The company was founded in 2000 in Kiev. One of the key activities of Dragon Capital are investments in real estate market.
Its commercial real estate portfolio is managed by Dragon Capital Property Management. As of November 2022 there are 29 commercial properties under management, including 13 office properties, six retail properties and 10 logistic complexes.

, , ,

DRAGON CAPITAL PREDICTS GDP GROWTH IN 2022 BY 3%

Head of Dragon Capital Tomas Fiala predicts the growth of Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 3% in 2022.
“Our forecast for GDP growth in 2022 remains unchanged, we expect growth at the level of 3%,” he said during the European Business Association (EBA) “Global Outlook: Reality Check” conference.
According to him, the exchange rate of the national currency during the year will be at the level of UAH 29-30/$1. At the same time, the hryvnia exchange rate will be stable in the first half of the year, while its volatility may begin in the second half of the year, since Ukraine will have to import a significant amount of energy resources.
The head of Dragon Capital added that currently his company continues to invest.
“We continue to invest in our investment projects, we continue to build industrial parks in Kyiv and Lviv,” Fiala said.

,

DRAGON CAPITAL GETS PERMIT FOR FIRST PHASE OF E40 INDUSTRIAL PARK

Dragon Capital has received permission to build a Class A warehouse complex with an area of 25,700 square meters, which is the first stage of E40 Industrial Park (Kyiv), the press service of the company said.
“We are pleased that obtaining permits for construction work in our country is becoming transparent and efficient. We were amazed when received permission from the State Inspectorate of Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine in just one day, submitting all the necessary documents online through the Diia portal. This is an unprecedented reform, which in itself can serve as a powerful signal for new investments in the construction sector,” Investment Director of Dragon Capital Mykhailo Sakun said.
He also expressed confidence that the significant tax incentives for residents of industrial parks, recently adopted at first reading, allow investors to see the prospects for investing in the development of industrial parks in Ukraine and create real incentives for investment in the industrial real estate sector as a whole.
E40 Industrial Park is an industrial park with a total area of 200,000 square meters, located on the 27th kilometer of the Zhytomyr highway, which is part of the European highway E40.
According to the release, E40 Industrial Park covers an area of 49 hectares and consists of nine sites, planned for storage and production facilities that meet international standards for “green” buildings BREEAM. The own management company Dragon Capital Property Management will provide centralized maintenance of infrastructure facilities and security of the park.
Sakun noted that the strategic location of the E40 park on the key international highway, close to the capital and its highly qualified personnel, the infrastructure and services of a professional developer are the key advantages of the project.
“We offer our partners both traditional lease and build-to-suit projects, that is, design and construction for the customer, which greatly simplifies the process of expansion, relocation or entry into Ukraine for industrialists, because we completely deal with all issues related to construction,” he said.
To date, Dragon Capital Property Management manages more than 380,000 sq m of industrial real estate and the company continues to expand its portfolio in this segment, including through development.

,

DRAGON CAPITAL CEO NOTES GROWTH IN NETWORK TENANTS IN SHOPPING MALLS

The share of chain tenants in tenant-mix shopping and entertainment centers of the Dragon Capital investment company increased due to a decrease in the share of non-systemic tenants, a trend noted by Tomas Fiala, founder and CEO of Dragon Capital, which actively invests in real estate.
“We get our rental income more as percentage of turnover. The base rental rate during COVID-19 has become significantly lower, and percentage of turnover – higher. Therefore, we are more attached to the success of our tenants and are interested in their profitability. It happened so that the share of non-systemic tenants – private entrepreneurs who supply goods non-systematically – decreased, while the share of chain tenants increased,” he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the head of Dragon Capital, the company monitors the real turnover of tenants, which is one of the terms of the lease.
According to Fiala, the share of electronics stores in the tenant pool has increased, sales of which have grown significantly during the pandemic.
According to him, in shopping centers there is still no trend towards a reduction in retail space due to an increase in the share of online trading.
“We already have good traffic in some shopping centers. Although even with a decrease in the number of customers amid COVID-19 [last summer, the attendance in malls was 20-25% lower], on more rare visits, they bought more, made larger purchases, so the turnover recovered,” Fiala said.
Speaking about investments in shopping mall projects, the head of Dragon Capital noted that large shopping centers are a risky investment, and the company prefers small projects.
“We prefer such small malls as Piramida or Aladdin, located in a densely populated residential area near the subway. But such objects also require attention, they need to be dealt with, they need to be modernized, adjusted to the needs of customers,” he said.
Fiala, in particular, specified that the company had invested about $9 million in the construction of a gallery expansion and completion of an office center of Piramida mall.
The head of the investment company added that Dragon Capital was also considering the acquisition of Dream Town mall.
“We considered Dream Town. Ocean Plaza is also kind of for sale. But in such huge malls there should be a very interesting price, because they will work for the next five years, but with the development of e-commerce, the tenant-mix will also change there. There will be more entertainment and dining, less commerce, as it has been in America for the past five years. So far it is not very visible, but sooner or later it will also start to happen in Ukraine,” Fiala summed up.

,

DRAGON CAPITAL ACQUIRES NEW BUSINESS CENTER

Dragon Capital investment company has completed the acquisition of a new A class Viking business center in Lviv, the press service reported. “This is our second business center in Lviv and the 14th in the Dragon Capital portfolio of office real estate in Ukraine,” CEO of Dragon Capital Tomas Fiala said.
The business center, located at the intersection of Zelena and Pimonenko Streets in Sykhiv district of Lviv, was commissioned in August 2021. The object consists of two sections (9 and 12 floors) with a total area of 18,700 square meters, and includes a parking lot for 102 cars.
The business center was built according to the “green” BREEAM certification standards.
Dragon Capital is one of the largest investment groups in Ukraine in the field of investment and financial services, providing a full range of investment banking and brokerage services, direct investments, asset management for institutional, corporate and private clients. The company was founded in Kyiv in 2000. One of the key activities of Dragon Capital is investment in the real estate market.
The commercial real estate portfolio is managed by Dragon Capital Property Management. As of September 2021, it manages 31 commercial real estate objects, including 14 office objects, six retail real estate objects and 11 logistics complexes, with a total area of 778,000 sq m.

,

DRAGON CAPITAL GETS $12.5 MLN LOAN FROM EBRD

Investment company Dragon Capital intends to partially refinance the Grand business center (Kyiv), as well as logistics complexes Diana Lux Logistic (Brovary) and Terminal Kharkiv with a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the amount of $12.5 million, the press service of the company reported.
“We are very pleased to begin our cooperation with the EBRD in the field of sustainable real estate investments. This loan will also allow Dragon Capital to expand investments in the commercial real estate sector, especially in the development of our two industrial parks: M10 in Lviv and E40 in Kyiv,” Dragon Capital Head Tomas Fiala is quoted as saying in the press release.
Dragon Capital has already received green certificates for four buildings in its portfolio (including BC Grand) and expects to double them in 2021. In addition, lease agreements for the company’s facilities will now include “green clauses” to minimize environmental impact.
Capital BC Grand (leasable area – 9,100 sq. m.), Diana Lux Logistic (15,000 sq. m.) and Terminal Kharkiv (11,700 sq. m.) were acquired by the company in 2017-2019.
Dragon Capital is one of the largest investment companies in Ukraine. It works in the field of direct investment and financial services, provides a full range of investment banking and brokerage services to corporate and private clients.
The commercial real estate portfolio is managed by Dragon Capital Property Management. As of January 2021, it manages 29 commercial properties, including 13 office properties, six retail properties and ten logistics complexes, with a total area of 662,000 square meters.