RBK: O1 Group has sold 70% of the luxury housing developer to its founders.

Investment company O1 Group, owned by Boris Mints, has sold 70% of the luxury real estate developer Vesper back to its founders. Experts note that the crisis has greatly affected the prices of luxury housing.

O1 Group is no longer among the owners of Vesper, according to representatives of both companies. In December of last year, Vesper's founders, Boris Azarenko and Denis Kitaev, repurchased 70% of the company.

Temporary involvement

O1 Group is one of the largest property owners in Moscow (with 14 business centers covering a total rental area of 517,500 square meters). It acquired 70% of Vesper in May of last year for $100 million. Vesper has a "very good team and a very appropriate niche" in constructing small, exclusive homes in the city center and renovating historic buildings, explained O1 owner Boris Mints to Vedomosti a year ago: "We believe this business has significant potential. Additionally, we see synergy with O1 Properties. As an investment company, O1 Properties receives offers to purchase various types of properties in the city, including office buildings and historic mansions that do not fit O1 Properties' strategy, but may be of interest to Vesper. As investors, we have long been acquainted with the owners of Vesper, but ultimately decided to become their shareholders. The company has good profitability and they build beautiful homes."

A representative of O1 now tells RBC that their participation in Vesper's capital was "temporary": "We supported the company when it needed additional resources for development. We still consider the niche in which the company operates very interesting, so we do not rule out that in the future, O1 Group may participate in some projects with Vesper as a partner."

Projects and investments

In the Vesper portfolio, which was founded by Azarenko and Kitaev in 2012, there are two completed projects - "Gelrich House" on Prechistensky Lane and "Bulgakov" on Patriarshiye Prudy. According to Azarenko, in December 2015, the company plans to hand over the keys to buyers of apartments in the St. Nicholas complex on Nikolskaya street. Construction has already begun on the Nabokov club house in Kursky Lane, near Ostozhenka, with a cost of $50 million. Another $30 million is planned to be invested in the Chekhov club house near the "Hermitage" garden.

The founders of Vesper do not disclose the amount for which they bought back their company. A source close to O1 management told RBC that the group recovered their investments before exiting the company's capital.

Today, more than 80% of transactions in the luxury new builds segment are conducted in rubles, according to Ekaterina Rumyantseva, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Kalinka Group. Taking into account individual discounts from developers, dollar prices have fallen by 30% in the past year. According to Kalinka Group data, the average offering prices have reached a record low of $17.35 thousand per square meter.