Russian investors, Alexander Ermakov and Yuri Shumakov, owners of a number of Russian IT assets (Avara IT Solutions LLC, SortverUan LLC, Van IT LLC) have acquired a chain of hotels previously owned by the Finnish brand Sokos. All three hotels with a total number of 927 units are located in St. Petersburg. The seller was the Finnish conglomerate S-Group, which announced its withdrawal from the Russian market. The purchase price and other conditions are not disclosed. This is stated in the Awara IT message.
The transaction was completed on June 21, 2022. From June 30, the management of the hotels will be transferred to the buyer, and the hotel activities of the former owner in Russia will be discontinued. The independent chain will include Palace Bridge Hotel 5* (a hotel with a spa area and the concept of "urban resort"), Vasilievsky Hotel 4* (a boutique hotel with the concept of "culture of hospitality and culture of recreation") and the Olympia Garden Hotel 4* business hotel. All hotels will operate under their current names and maintain the level of service and compliance with international standards. Top management and hotel staff will continue their work.
The main reason for the purchase is the diversification of assets. The new owners predict a high level of domestic demand for hotel services, as well as the growth of tourism from friendly countries. The key growth factors are the development of domestic tourism and the geographical location of the network.
Asset diversification is not the only motive for the transaction. Alexander Ermakov and Yuri Shumakov consider the hospitality industry as one of the priority target segments for their core business – the company WONE IT (formed in May 2022 as a result of the purchase of Russian assets of the Swiss IT solutions provider SoftwareONE AG and its subsequent merger with the system integrator Awara IT).
The shareholders assess their new investments as long-term and plan to continue investing, including in the development of their own IT products for the hospitality industry.