St. Petersburg – Etalon Group Limited (“Etalon Group” or the “Company”), one of Russia’s largest and long established residential real estate developers, is pleased to announce that the St. Petersburg State Construction Supervision and Expertise Department has approved project documentation for Tsar’s Capital, one of the Company’s largest residential construction projects in St. Petersburg.

Approval of project documentation is a key milestone for the Tsar’s Capital project; Etalon Group now expects to obtain a construction permit and launch sales in the coming weeks.

Tsar’s Capital will consist of 15 residential buildings of up to 11 storeys, containing around 3,800 flats that will house c. 7,500 people. The first stage of the project will include three eight-storey buildings containing 741 flats and 425 parking spaces, with a total NSA of 71.4 thousand sqm.

T: +44 (0) 20 8123 1328
E: info@etalongroup.com

Sam VanDerlip
T: +7 495 363 2845
vanderlip@mcomgroup.com

History and Overview

Founded in 1987 by Viacheslav Zarenkov, Etalon Group has become one of Russia's largest residential real estate developers. With a 25-year history, the Company has one of the longest and most successful track records in the Russian real estate industry.

Today Etalon Group is a leading player in Russia’s “Golden Triangle” – St Petersburg, Moscow and the greater Moscow area, with a dominant position in the “comfort class” segment. The Company’s strong foothold in these markets is reinforced further by its unique nationwide sales network covering 9 of the 10 wealthiest regions of Russia, and spanning 30 cities in total. The sales network generates up to 30% of Etalon Group’s revenue, and has been an important source of stable demand even throughout the crisis.

Etalon Group is one of the only truly vertically integrated businesses in the Russian real estate sector. The Company does everything from acquiring land to sales and cash collections from its customers, which enables it to maximise margins throughout the value chain, and reduces exposure to cost inflation from external service providers. Etalon Group is a company of scale, with a total of 40 business units that employ over 4,000 people, two strong management companies, five general contractors, 16 subcontractors, a crane company, a brick factory and a nationwide sales network.

Etalon Group’s strong financial position is driven by its effective pre-sales business model. The Company aims to pre-sell 70-90% of all residential space before a building is delivered. It also targets an average down payment of 50%. This allows Etalon Group to finance the construction process using money from customers, as opposed to using the loans or funding from shareholders.

In addition to homebuilding, Etalon Group’s long history and superior quality offering has helped it to become a trusted industrial construction partner for clients like General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motors, Bosch, Siemens, Nissan, Suzuki and Gazprom in northwest Russia.

Since 20 April 2011, Etalon Group Limited has had its GDRs traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

As of 31 December 2011, Etalon Group’s portfolio comprised 31 projects, with a total of 3.25 million sqm of unsold net sellable area ("NSA") in the St. Petersburg and Moscow Metropolitan Areas. Jones Lang LaSalle valued this portfolio at USD 1,714 million, a 20% increase in the market value from YE 2010.

For the year ended 31 December 2011, Etalon Group’s new contract sales totalled 270,012 sqm, or RUR 18,306 million. Deliveries in 2011 totalled 328 thousand sqm.

The Company recorded revenues of RUB 22.7 billion (USD 774 million) and EBITDA of RUB 8.2 billion (USD 279 million), with an EBITDA margin of 36% for the year ended 31 December 2011, making it one of the most profitable players in the sector.

Etalon Group’s net cash position at 31 December 2011 was USD 167 million, leaving it well positioned to fund continued dynamic growth.