Ascania Group plans to invest $2 million in the development of Kyiv’s Protasiv Yar ski complex, CEO Serhii Zhyla told Forbes Ukraine. The main portion of the investment will go toward building a pool for snowmaking and installing a chairlift. The pool will supply water for snow cannons, enabling faster and more efficient snow coverage of the slopes.
According to Zhyla, with the pool, snow cover can be created within the first three to five frosty days, allowing the skiing season to be extended by about a month. After the pool construction is completed, approximately one season later, the installation of a chairlift is planned. Currently, Protasiv Yar operates with two drag lifts.
Total investments in the pool, chairlift, and related expenses are estimated at up to $2 million. The majority of the funding will come from the complex’s profits, with the remainder covered by additional financing from Ascania Group.
According to YouControl, Protasiv Yar’s revenue in 2024 grew by 18.4% to reach UAH 1.9 million, although this is about half the level of 2021 and 2022, when revenue exceeded UAH 4 million.
Ascania Group is a diversified Ukrainian holding company comprising 12 business sectors, owned by Valerii and Serhii Horbani. Its main areas include food and beverage import, production and distribution, rose cultivation, electricity and natural gas supply for enterprises, logistics, warehousing and cargo services, as well as tire supply and distribution in Ukraine.
The group includes Ascania Flora, the largest rose cultivation company in Europe; City24, the second-largest self-service terminal network in Ukraine; the Protasiv Yar ski slope in Kyiv; and the kvass producer Yarilo.
Ascania Group’s revenue grew by 66% in 2024 to reach UAH 14 billion, and in the first half of 2025 it increased by 26% to UAH 6.7 billion.
