City Capital Group, owned by Israeli entrepreneur Ofer Kerzner, is about to purchase two properties in the center of Kyiv from the Irish banking corporation IBRC: the first phase of the Leonardo business center and one of the country’s oldest shopping malls – “Ukrainа” – according to Forbes Ukraine sources.
While the Leonardo business center is considered one of the most luxurious situated in Kyiv’s old town, the Ukrainа shopping mall is located near the central railway station and key Kyiv’s central avenues.
“I love Ukraine, I believe in the country and its potential. We have been investing in Ukraine for many years and would like to continue doing business here,” Kerzner said confirming the acquisition to Forbes Ukraine. Forbes estimated the deal at $70–100 million in total, which did not include any future renovation costs.
Two investment players – a top manager of a consulting company and a company owner – told Forbes the price per square meter of the Leonardo asset would be around $2,000.
The Leonardo Business Center is a prominent 60,000 square meters (650,000 square feet) Class A office complex located in the center of the Ukrainian capital. It was opened in two phases with Kerzner about to buy the first, opened in 2005 on the site of a former hotel.
The second phase was completed in 2008, when it was considered to be the most prestigious business center in Kyiv, Pavlo Lucsiv, director of the investment company Soul Partners told Forbes.
The tenants in the Leonardo business center include the Ukrainian Sense and Universal banks, Miele appliance stores, the Ink restaurant, ICU, the largest Ukrainian law firm Asters, and Ukrainian law firm Vasil Kisil & Partners, both given gold standard assessment in the Chamber and Partners Global Rating of World’s Law Firms.
The Ukraina shopping mall and department store was built in 1960-1966 and renovated in 2003-2004.
It currently covers 45,330 square meters (490,000 square feet). Tenants include Ukrainian major retailers Velmart, SMYKa and Brocard, and international subsidiaries Pandora, Jysk, Reserved, Sinsay,
Kerzner is aware of the wartime risk associated with these investments but says it is his way of helping and supporting Ukraine’s economy adding, “I hope many other foreign investors will follow our lead.”
The acquisition of Kyiv’s Leonardo and Ukraina Mall by the Israeli entrepreneur may be the latest but is not the only foreign investment deal Ukraine has seen since the start of Russia’s full-scale war.
Polish Getin Holding and Ukrainian TAS Group have signed a deal to purchase the Idea Bank of Ukraine. The purchase valued at $34 million was the first merger and acquisition (M&A) deal in the banking sector after Russia launched its February 2022full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
French investor Xavier Niel’s NJJ Capital acquired Ukrainian mobile operator Lifecell and internet provider Datagroup-Volia in January 2024.
UMCC Titanium operator of the Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant and Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant was acquired by NEQSOL Holding, an international group of companies with operations across 11 countries and headquarters in Amsterdam, Baku, and Kyiv.
Leonardo and Ukraina mall’s previous owners
The Leonardo Business Center and Ukraina Mall in Kyiv were previously owned by Irish businessman Sean Quinn. His Quinn Group acquired Leonardo’s first phase in 2006 for $95 million, and Ukraina Mall for $59 million, according to Forbes Ukraine.
Following Quinn’s bankruptcy in 2011, ownership of both assets passed to his lender – the Anglo Irish Bank, which was also in the process of liquidation. The Irish state later nationalized the bank, turning it into the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). IBRC retained ownership of both properties until the recent sale to Kerzner’s City Capital Group.
Kerzner has already reshaped the management, replacing Rostyslav Levinzon, the previous CEO of both properties.
In April 2025, Hryhorii Kudzhoyan became director of Quinn Properties Ukraine, which owns the first phase of Leonardo.
Around the same time, Cyprus-based Ambitland Trading LTD, where Kerzner is the beneficiary, acquired a 0.4% stake in Quinn Properties Ukraine, according to YouControl data cited by Forbes. Kudzhoyan also manages two other City Capital Group properties in Kyiv.
Ukraina Mall also saw a leadership change: Svitlana Kostiuk replacing Levinzon as director in April 2025.
Ukraine Mall’s turnover grew 13% in 2024 to Hr.113 million ($2.7 million). In the first quarter of 2025, it rose another 25% to UAH 33 million ($790,000). At the beginning of 2025, liabilities stood at UAH 3.9 billion ($94.8 million) and remained barely changed in the first quarter, the media outlet reported.
The owner of the Leonardo first phase, Quinn Properties Ukraine’s revenue grew by 18.5% last year, reaching Hr.126 million ($3.1 million). In the first quarter of this year, it increased by 20.6%, totaling Hr.36.5 million ($875,000), according to YouControl data analyzed by Forbes.