Sochi Meat Processing Plant did not become a landowner

The Krasnodar Regional Arbitration COURT denied Sochi MEAT Processing Plant JSC permission to buy out the territory under the enterprise in Sochi. The meat processing plant claimed ownership of a leased area of ​​9.6 hectares, but the city hall refused, since the site is located in the sanitary protection zone of the resort, where land privatization is prohibited. Experts believe that the joint-stock company expected to increase the value of its assets by purchasing the land in order to attract credit funds. In their opinion, the chances of challenging the decision of the court are small.

Sochi Meat Processing Plant JSC lost a lawsuit with the Sochi Mayor's Office, without obtaining permission to buy out a 9.6-hectare site (information about this is available on the website of the Arbitration Court of the Krasnodar Territory). The enterprise, as the owner of the production facilities located on the site, asked the mayor's office to transfer the leased municipal territory to its ownership, offering to set a redemption price within 12% of the cadastral value, which is 1.1 billion rubles.

The site has a protected status - in the nineties of the last century, the resorts and recreational areas of Anapa, Gelendzhik and Sochi were classified as specially protected natural areas (SPNA) of federal significance. The Sochi Meat Processing Plant said that currently the protected status is not valid, since in 2020 the Federal Law “On Specially Protected Natural Territories” was amended to exclude medical and recreational areas and resorts from protected areas. Thus, according to the applicant, there are no restrictions on the privatization of the territory. However, the Sochi mayor's office pointed out that the disputed site is located within the boundaries of the second sanitary protection zone of the resort, and the transfer of such sites to private ownership is prohibited by the Land Code of the Russian Federation. regional arbitration court,

Sochi Meat Processing Plant JSC has been operating since 1937 and is one of the leaders in the meat products market in the south of RUSSIA. The founders, according to kartoteka.ru, are Press Trade and Finance (Virgin Islands) and individuals (according to market participants, the company is controlled by Sochi businessman Igor Nesterenko). JSC revenue in 2020 amounted to 3.5 billion rubles, a loss of 110 million rubles. The company shows losses for the first time in its history. The revenue of the meat processing plant is also falling - in 2013 this figure exceeded 5 billion rubles, in 2019 - 4.4 billion rubles. There is also other evidence of problems that have arisen for the joint-stock company: in particular, the arbitration court is considering the application of one of the suppliers about the bankruptcy of the plant. At the same time, the website of the joint-stock company does not work, there was no answer to a phone call to the reception and to a request from Kommersant-South by e-mail.

According to analysts, the intention to acquire a land under the enterprise in the property may be associated with an attempt to increase the collateral base to attract borrowed funds. According to Roman Domashchenko, managing partner of the Domashchenko & Partners law firm, the right to lease land can be pledged at 30-50% of the market value of the land, and if the land is owned, banks value the pledge at its full market price. The expert believes that the land under the meat-packing plant could cost up to 5 billion rubles if purchased into ownership. “Another option to explain the situation is that the management of the meat processing plant may plan to close production and sell the enterprise for development,” Roman Domashchenko believes.

Lawyers interviewed by Kommersant-South also do not rule out that buying land for the plant would be less expensive than paying rent in the long term. According to Vasily Malinin, a partner at Rustam Kurmaev & Partners law firm, the JSC's chances of challenging the court's decision are assessed as below average, since the disputed area is limited in circulation.

“According to the information system for ensuring the urban development of Sochi, given in the court decision, the territory is located in the second zone of the district of the mountain and sanitary protection of the resort, it is impossible to privatize these lands due to the direct prescription of the law,” the lawyer explained.