RBK: In Moscow, real estate with insurance against price decline has started to be sold.

The company "Gals-Development" has found an alternative to inaccessible bank loans. The developer has agreed to guarantee to the Japanese company Yunika, which bought apartments from him in a building under construction, that their price will not fall in four years. Gals-Technopark, a subsidiary of Gals-Development, sold 19 apartments and 26 parking spaces in the elite residential complex "Teatralny Dom" to the Japanese company Yunika Home for 1.18 billion rubles ($22.8 million), according to the developer's materials. The "Teatralny Dom" is located on the corner of Povarskaya and Novy Arbat streets in the center of Moscow (exact address: Povarskaya, 8) and is still unfinished - the completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017. Investment deals with real estate usually imply the purchase of premises at early stages of construction - at a discount - and selling them after the completion of the property at market prices. Currently, about 30% of the apartments in the "Teatralny Dom" with an area of ​​20,000 square meters have been sold, according to Gals-Development's press service. The Japanese have acquired about 15% of the available apartments (a total of 129 in the building) and 9% of the parking spaces (229). The area of ​​apartments in the building varies from 68 to 218 square meters. Yunika Home is a part of the Japanese Yunika Corporation, according to the company's website. It specializes in development and investment in commercial real estate, develops a network of 12 gambling clubs, and owns karaoke, cafes, bars, billiard clubs, and other entertainment and leisure enterprises. The deal with Gals-Development became the first one for Yunika Home outside of Japan, as noted on their website. As can be seen from the disclosure of information from Gals-Development on the London Stock Exchange, the sale of premises was made in an unusual scheme for Russian developers and required approval from the board of directors of the Gals-Technopark subsidiary. The point is, the Japanese were guaranteed a buyback of the real estate: if the prices of the apartments fall below the purchase price by the investor, the developer is ready to refund the money and take back the premises in four years. The board of directors of Gals-Development approved the guarantee for the loan from Gals-Technopark for 1.18 billion rubles ($22.8 million) on April 15th. It can be seen from the developer's message on the exchange that the deal concerns the so-called "sale of future property". Gals-Development has undertaken to return the amount received by its subsidiary from Yunika Home no later than 60 days after the expiration of the contract - September 28th, 2019. Thus, Gals-Development received financing for its project, and the Japanese investor received guarantees for the return of investments. This scheme is common for the securities market: REPO transactions imply the sale of securities with a guarantee of their repurchase after a certain period at a pre-agreed price, says Svetlana Kara, Managing Partner of Capital Global Partners. "The investor was making a large deal in Moscow for the first time and wanted guarantees for the return of his funds," said Igor Bychenok, Director of the Sales Department of Gals-Development. When banks don't provide financing, large developers currently have the opportunity to attract bank financing with interest rates starting from 15% per annum and higher, according to a top manager of a construction company. "Everything depends on the term and volume of the loan, as well as the collateral that the developer can provide," he says. "For banks, low credit load and the presence of a stable cash flow are very important." In the case of Gals-Development and Yunika Home, the seller recognizes the received funds as revenue, not as a debt, and does not provide guarantees for their return, notes Alexander Khrustalev, CEO of "NDV-Nedvizhimost". "Such offers [like Gals-Development's] are encountered by developers," he said."The big advantage of such a deal for the borrower will be the absence of the need to service the loan, which they will be able to repay from future profits rather than current cash flows. Moreover, this loan is essentially interest-free," believes Kara. "In the future, the popularity of such a scheme can only grow, because the opportunities for bank financing of development projects are currently limited," suggests Sayan Tsyrenov, the director of the capital markets department at Colliers International. The deal to attract not astronomical, but foreign investments in the crisis is unique in itself, jokes Popov. "Gals Development" is 51.24% owned by VTB and 42.3% by Bank of Moscow, which is part of the VTB group. The project portfolio is 1.6 million square meters, with the largest projects being the reconstruction of the Central Children's Store on Lubyanka and the "Beijing" hotel, as well as the development of the 11th plot in "Moscow-City" ("IQ Quarter"). As of the end of 2013, the company's debt reached 127 billion rubles, with no further details provided later. Sales of residential and commercial real estate in 2014 amounted to 21 billion rubles, which is 78% higher than the 2013 figure. Alexey Pastushin, RBC