Mirax brand terminated

2011-03-04

The Mirax Group, a well-known developer on the Russian construction market, terminated its Mirax brand, the company's founder and owner, Sergey Polonsky, officially announced during a press conference on 3 March.
Mr. Polonsky asked the public to “no longer consider him a businessman”. However, he also assured that all of Mirax’s commitments will be fulfilled. That includes the completion of the Federatsia Tower in the Moscow City business centre, which will receive $370m (€266.5m) in financing from the Sberbank state bank. Meanwhile, the Mirax Plaza office complex project (387,000 m² of residential and commercial space) will be transferred to Gazstroyconsulting and Promsvyazbank. According to Mr. Polonsky, the Wellhouse na Dubrovke residential project (174,000 m²) and the Kutuzovskaya Riviera car park will also be finished. The construction of the former project will be resumed in April, while the latter is expected to be finished and open during the same month.
As far as Mirax's international projects are concerned, their status will be disclosed after consultations with the group's foreign partners.
Mr. Polonsky did not provide any details regarding his decision, but gave a Sberbank representative sealed envelopes, purportedly containing explanations, but requested that they not be opened until 2014. According to some commentators within Moscow's construction market, the termination of the brand by the group may indicate plans to declare bankruptcy.
Mirax's total debts amount to €300-400m, and the company's portfolio contains incomplete projects with a total area of 2.5 million m².