The first attempt to sell Kyiv’s Gulliver retail and office complex at a starting price of $207 million attracted no buyers. The auction scheduled for 1 October 2026 did not take place: no bids had been submitted by the 30 September deadline. The asset’s starting price was UAH 9.24 billion excluding VAT, with the sale terms requiring full payment on the day the agreement was signed.
The supervisory boards of Oschadbank and Ukreximbank, which own 80% and 20% of the complex respectively, will determine the next steps for the sale. Oschadbank says there is interest in the asset, but potential investors remain cautious because of war risks.
As preparations continue for the sale of Ocean Plaza, the outcome of Gulliver’s first auction sharpens the question: what are assets of this scale actually worth, and who is prepared to acquire them? We examine what buyers are being offered, how the two complexes are valued, and who the potential investors might be.
For comparison, total investment in Ukrainian retail real estate in 2025 is estimated at approximately $81 million. Last year’s largest real estate transaction — City Capital Group’s acquisition of the Ukraina shopping centre and Leonardo business centre — was estimated at $70–100 million.
Let us examine what exactly is for sale, whether the starting price was justified, why Ocean Plaza has two different price tags, and who in Ukraine can commit that much capital.
What Is Being Sold at Gulliver, and at What Price?
Gulliver combines two office towers and a ten-storey shopping centre on Sportyvna Square. According to the auction documentation, it comprises 151,800 sq m of gross floor area, including parking, and 92,500 sq m of lettable space, more than half of which is offices. There is no other asset of this format in Kyiv.
The sale covers the real estate itself — the building and two land plots — rather than shares in the owning company. The complex previously belonged to Tri O LLC, a borrower from Oschadbank and Ukreximbank. Last year, the banks took possession of the building under a mortgage enforcement clause against $675 million of debt, while the company itself is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. The buyer acquires the building, while the borrower’s debts remain within its bankruptcy case.
The lot also excludes approximately 5,500 sq m that the previous owner had transferred to third parties, including the top three floors of Tower A.
There are 16 ongoing court cases concerning the complex, listed in a separate appendix to the documentation. In cases where judgments have already been issued, courts at both first instance and appeal have rejected claims against the banks, although the key case challenging the registration of ownership has been stayed. A prospective buyer will have to complete legal due diligence before submitting a bid, accompanied by a UAH 461.8 million bid security deposit by 30 September.
The auction’s starting price is UAH 9.24 billion excluding VAT, or $207 million. When enforcing the mortgage last year, the banks credited the complex and land plots against the debt at UAH 5.3 billion. That represents their acquisition price, making the auction’s starting price 1.7 times higher. VAT is charged only on the difference between the building’s sale price and acquisition price, and the buyer pays it on top of the auction price. At the starting price, this adds approximately UAH 780 million.
Payment terms are strict. The full amount must be paid on the day the agreement is notarised or within three business days of approval by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, with no instalments or seller financing. The banks may cancel the auction at any stage.
There are no direct comparables for Gulliver: the asset is unique in Kyiv, and no transactions of this size have taken place during the full-scale war. Nevertheless, there are two main approaches to assessing its value.
Building a comparable complex today would cost more than $250 million. An income approach, based on net operating income (NOI) and capitalisation rates, produces a valuation of up to $210–230 million. We estimate annual NOI as of the end of 2025 at approximately $23–29 million, applying capitalisation rates of 12–13.5% to the retail component and 15.5–17% to the offices. The difference reflects conditions in the two segments: even after declining in the first half of the year, Kyiv’s office vacancy rate stood at 16%.
The $207 million starting price does not exceed this valuation and is an acceptable starting point for an English auction, where bids can only move upwards.
First-half market data favoured the seller. Retail turnover among enterprises increased by 9.1% in January–July, while vacancy in Kyiv’s shopping centres fell to 11.5%. Vacant space is concentrated in just four properties, bringing occupancy in high-quality retail space close to 100%. Gulliver itself fully resumed operations on 1 February following its transfer to the banks, and six Inditex stores returned in April.
The August and September wave of attacks on businesses changes these assumptions. Statistics do not yet show its impact on consumption. Since 10 September, Kyiv’s shopping centres have been operating according to air-raid alert levels, with some, including Ocean Plaza, closing during every alert. When the lot was announced, we considered demand for it realistic. Whether that demand is sufficient to support payment of the full price under the new conditions will be tested by the auction itself.
What Is Ocean Plaza Worth?
The state has two valuation benchmarks for Ocean Plaza that are difficult to reconcile. In the State Property Fund of Ukraine’s 2026 plan, the indicative value of the owning company, Investment Union Lybid LLC, reaches UAH 11.3 billion, or approximately $250 million. In July, the Fund cited a different benchmark: potential buyers were prepared to start at approximately $100 million for 100% of the shopping centre. The Fund did not disclose the basis for either figure.
To understand which is closer to reality, it is necessary to examine what the state is actually selling. It owns 66.65% of the owning company, confiscated from Rotenberg-linked entities by a High Anti-Corruption Court ruling in 2023. A year later, the same court also transferred the company’s loan debt claims, worth more than $200 million, to the state. Lanita Invest owns the remaining 33.35%.
The lot being prepared by the Fund combines the state’s equity stake with the debt claims, as there is no mechanism for offering the state and private stakes as a single package. The buyer acquires control of the company alongside the debt it owes to the buyer, with that debt comparable to the value of the entire asset. In effect, the buyer acquires the building free of external debt and will have to pay an amount close to its value. The minority shareholder has publicly supported this format and is considering selling its stake.
We assessed Ocean Plaza’s market value using direct capitalisation. With annual net operating income of $13–17 million and a capitalisation rate of 14–17%, the property is worth $76–121 million. The base case, assuming NOI of $15 million and a 15.5% capitalisation rate, produces a valuation of $97 million. If average rents and occupancy both fall by 20%, the valuation drops to $62 million.
The company’s debt of $197.8 million exceeds the property’s value in every scenario. The creditor has priority over all of the shopping centre’s cash flows, so an equity stake without the debt claims has no value; the building itself effectively determines the lot’s price. This calculation is consistent with the Fund’s July benchmark of $100 million, whereas the $250 million valuation in its 2026 plan is twice even the upper end of the market range.
Who Can Commit That Much Capital?
Full payment without seller financing narrows the buyer pool in itself. Few players in Ukraine can commit $100–200 million. They fall into three categories: major private investors, investment firms, and collective investment vehicles.
An example of the first category this year was Maksym Krippa, who consolidated 100% ownership of the International Exhibition Centre, with the entire complex valued at approximately $70–80 million. Dragon Capital represents the second category, having acquired Karavan Outlet for an estimated $40–60 million. In the third, Inzhur is the most prominent: it raised UAH 2.3 billion in the first four months of 2026 and acquired Sky Park in Vinnytsia for UAH 1.5 billion at the end of 2025. None of these acquisitions exceeded $100 million, so Gulliver would be a first transaction of this size for any of them.
The potential buyer pool for Ocean Plaza is narrower still. Inzhur, which has expressed interest in the property, will participate only if the real estate itself is offered for sale, whereas the Fund is preparing a lot comprising equity and debt claims. The Fund considers an auction feasible no earlier than December, meaning prospective Ocean Plaza buyers will first see the price achieved for Gulliver.
There are no foreign institutional buyers on this list. Foreign interest in Ukrainian real estate in 2025 was limited to an €8.5 million investment in an industrial park in Lviv, as there is no available reinsurance for the war risk associated with an asset of this scale. Private coverage is capped at $100 million per risk. State compensation for losses is available only in ten frontline regions. The Ministry of Economy has announced a new mechanism for 2027 with a limit of $10 million per company, describing the international reinsurance market as effectively closed to Ukraine.
Events in 2026 illustrate the scale of this risk. On the night of 5 August, missiles destroyed Rozetka’s distribution centre in Brovary, while a strike on 3 September destroyed the country’s largest pharmaceutical warehouse near Kyiv. The Kvadrat shopping centre in the capital had already been completely destroyed in May. The Ministry of Economy estimates business losses this year at up to $10 billion. Buyers bear most of this risk themselves, so local capital will move first and establish the price.
The significance of that price extends beyond the two lots, as Kyiv has no new supply of large-format properties. Only one shopping centre, covering 6,200 sq m, opened in the capital during 2025, while Ocean Mall, announced for 2026, had not opened by mid-year. The same benchmark will inform the valuation of Dream, which Garik Korogodsky valued at approximately $100 million including debt in March.
Under current conditions, completing a transaction worth more than $200 million would in itself be a significant outcome for the market. When institutional capital returns to Ukraine, it will use the same reference point. Whoever buys large-format assets today will set the pricing benchmark for the rest of the market for several years to come.
