Despite the pressure of law enforcement agencies on the business of Arricano Real Estate PLC (Cyprus) in Ukraine during 2023-24, the leading developer of the shopping mall does not lose faith in justice and the victory of Ukraine and continues to reinvest in the development of its four shopping malls, the restoration of the Solnechnaya Galereya shopping mall after the missile strike and the construction of the Lukianivka shopping mall, work in frontline cities, create jobs and pay taxes and fees to the state budget of Ukraine.
As reported to RAU by the company's press service, during the first half of 2024, the Arricano Group companies in Ukraine paid UAH 81.6 million in taxes and fees to budgets at all levels. In addition, the group's companies continue to systematically support the defense forces of Ukraine and help the military, charitable foundations and public organizations. Since the beginning of the year, the amount of financial assistance has amounted to more than UAH 2.5 million.
As of July 1, 2024, the vacancy rate in Kyiv properties remains at 0%, in the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhia – 1.2%, in the Solnechnaya Galereya shopping center in Kryvyi Rih – 0.8%, and the tenant mix consists of leading Ukrainian retailers and lovemark brands such as Comfy, Silpo and others.
It is separately noted that in less than a month, some of the shops and establishments of the Solnechnaya Galereya shopping and entertainment center, which was damaged as a result of a missile strike on Krivoy Rog in January 2024, have resumed operations. Currently, 74 operators work in the shopping center, and this number continues to grow.
"We understand that the operation of our shopping centers in cities located near the front line is an important factor in stability and maintaining the confidence of local communities, so we have not stopped work on restoring shopping centers and attracting socially important tenants for a single day, even despite the actual attempts of law enforcement agencies to stop Arricano's business in Ukraine. Investments in the renovation of frontline shopping centers and the restoration of the Solnechnaya Galereya shopping center amounted to about UAH 51 million," notes Anna Chubotina , CEO of Arricano Real Estate LLC, a company that carries out operational management of the Arricano group's assets in Ukraine.
In June 2024, the Solnechnaya Galereya shopping mall and the City Mall shopping mall changed their anchor operator to a supermarket of the popular Silpo chain. This significantly increased traffic in both facilities and had a positive impact on the turnover of operators of all product groups.
In addition, in the first half of the year, 84 stores and establishments with a total area of 25,400 sq. m were opened and renovated in Arricano shopping malls. The company considers support for Ukrainian brands to be an important area of development of its facilities, therefore their representation in Arricano shopping malls is gradually increasing.
At the same time, the strategy for the development of the shopping mall group assumes further updating of formats and launching of new stores. Currently, a significant number of contracts of new tenants are being signed, which will complement and diversify the quality pool of stores and establishments of all shopping malls.
By the end of 2024, Arricano shopping centers expect even more openings, in particular Sinsay in the Solnechnaya Galereya shopping center, Lesia in the Prospekt shopping center. Plans for the second half of the year include the resumption of work of Puma, Citrus in the City Mall shopping center, as well as Goldi, Athletics, Akvarel and the operators of the Solnechnaya Galereya shopping center food court zone.
In total, over 11.2 million guests visited Arricano shopping centers in the first 6 months of 2024. About 100 events and activities were held in the first half of the year, including 19 with a charitable component, and 17 CSR projects were implemented. Over this period, over 170 tenant partners and over 110 external partners actively joined Arricano's initiatives.
"The company's owners believe that investing in the development of Ukrainian projects during the war is not a matter of business, but a matter of supporting the country and citizens who have become victims of aggression. And although Arricano's business in Ukraine is experiencing unprecedented pressure from law enforcement agencies, we are confident that the law is on our side, and we continue to implement our investment plans not only in existing but also in future projects," notes Anna Chubotina.
In the first half of 2024, Arricano continued working on the Lukyanovka shopping center project in Kyiv and investing in the planned engineering work for the current year. By the end of the year, the team is planning activities to improve the conceptual solutions and development strategy of the shopping center.
More information about Arricano's activities can be found on the official website and on the company's Facebook page.
