The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has granted permission to Maxim Krippa’s ARS Capital JSC to acquire control over Igor Nikonov’s Graal LLC, which planned to build an office and hotel complex on Khreshchatyk.
The committee made the decision on February 12, according to its website.
As reported to the Interfax-Ukraine agency by Nikonov’s company KAN Development, the developer is withdrawing from the project.
“Yes, we are withdrawing from the project. The details of the agreement are confidential,” the developer’s press service said.
According to YouControl, the ultimate beneficiary of JSC ZNVKIF “ARS Capital” is the owner of the “Parus” business center, the ‘Ukraine’ hotel, the “International Exhibition Center” in Kyiv, as well as the NAVI esports team, Maxim Krippa. As of February 12, ARS Capital has a 24% stake in Graal LLC.
The owners of Graal LLC are listed as Branko, ARS Capital (24% each), Tennessee (20.75%), Niagara (12.5%), and Terra-Lux LLC (18.75%). The ultimate beneficiary is Igor Nikonov, owner of the development company KAN Development.
As reported, in 2024, the State Architecture and Construction Inspectorate (DIAH) granted Graal LLC permission to build the Stolichny complex in Kyiv on land plots at 5, 5 “B,” and 7/9 Khreshchatyk Street and 4-B Hrushevsky Street in the Pecherskyi district.
According to information on the portal of the Unified State Electronic System in the field of construction, urban planning conditions and restrictions for the project were issued on February 15, 2022, and the permissible height of buildings was set at 34 m. According to the project data, the total area of the 10-story building will be 38.8 thousand square meters, of which the area of apartments (219 units) will be 21.6 thousand square meters, offices – 1.8 thousand square meters, commercial premises – 2.1 thousand square meters, fitness center – 1,200 square meters, underground parking (146 parking spaces) – 4,500 square meters.
Earlier, in 2007, the Kyiv City Council sold 20 acres of land at 5 Khreshchatyk Street to Graal, a company controlled at the time by businessman Mikhail Tabachnik, for UAH 8.7 million. Graal planned to begin construction of the Stolichny complex in 2010. At that time, the project envisaged a 160-meter hotel complex and a four-level underground shopping and entertainment center with parking under European Square. The project was estimated at EUR 400 million.
The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) has sent an official letter to the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov and the leadership of the Administrative Buildings Department of the Economic and Financial Department of the Cabinet Secretariat, stating that it is impossible to fulfill their demand to vacate the office in downtown Kyiv on Khreshchatyk, which the union has occupied for 32 years, by March 10.
“We consider unacceptable any unilateral restrictive steps taken by representatives of the department that will block the activities of the ULIE and its partners – national associations of industrialists, entrepreneurs and employers, members of the Anti-Crisis Headquarters for Economic Sustainability under martial law, which are directly related to the implementation of the initiatives initiated by the President of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers, in particular, “Made in Ukraine,” the ULIE said on Monday.
The union told Interfax-Ukraine that the Cabinet of Ministers’ Secretariat had decided not to extend the UUIE’s location on Khreshchatyk, even on a lease basis. The ULIE claims that, nevertheless, the first floors of the building are occupied by commercial structures with which lease agreements have been concluded.
Among the arguments for the impossibility of fulfilling the demand of March 4 to vacate the occupied premises at 34 Khreshchatyk Street by March 10, the ULIE cites the March 12 meeting of the Anti-Crisis Headquarters for Economic Sustainability under Martial Law with the participation of, among others, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada and the National Security and Defense Council.
“Also in March of this year, the ULIE is planning a number of international events to attract expert assistance and investment resources from foreign partners to support the economic recovery of Ukraine,” the union adds.
In a letter signed by its chairman, former Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh, the ULIE emphasizes that it guarantees reimbursement to the balance sheet holder for the costs of maintaining the premises it uses and the utilities actually provided, as it has already informed government agencies.
It is noted that as of March 11, by order of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, an attempt has already been made to prevent USPP employees from getting to their workplaces, and there is no electricity and Internet connection in part of the office.
It is noted that several dozen business associations, including the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Employers, the Federation of Trade Unions, Ukrlegprom, the Union of Chemists, Ukrmashbud, the Construction Chamber, Ukrmetallurgprom, as well as the second president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, who once headed the union, and Viktor Yushchenko, who later replaced him as head of the country, have already spoken out in support of the USPP.
