Russian state-owned lender Sberbank has divested 23 Alpi supermarkets in an auction for $117 mln (EUR 86 mln). The retail properties were formerly owned by local retail and property development group Alpi and transferred to Sberbank at the end of 2009 in exchange for unredeemed debt. According to news reports in Russian papers, the portfolio includes a total of 324,000 m[sup]2[/sup] of retail space and has been acquired by Moscow firm AMK-Pharma.

Russian state-owned lender Sberbank has divested 23 Alpi supermarkets in an auction for $117 mln (EUR 86 mln). The retail properties were formerly owned by local retail and property development group Alpi and transferred to Sberbank at the end of 2009 in exchange for unredeemed debt. According to news reports in Russian papers, the portfolio includes a total of 324,000 m2 of retail space and has been acquired by Moscow firm AMK-Pharma.

Sberbank has become the new owner of a number of real estate assets over the past months as Russian developers struggle to meet their debt payments. In the retail sector, the lender has taken over three retail chains, Mosmart, Alpi and the retail business of the Vester Group, as well as a stake in the Capital City development project in Moscow.

Also in the Russian capital, UK property consultancy group Chesterton Humberts said it is expanding its business with the opening of a new office located in the Smolensky area, central Moscow. The new office is headed by Greg Thain, former Knight Frank chairman for Russia. 'The office will serve the increasingly complex property consultancy needs of Russian speaking clients seeking both residential and commercial property in the UK, Europe and Middle East,' the company said.

'We expect our profile and client base to expand dramatically in Russia over the next few years,' added CEO Robert Bartlett.