News
Petrosyan plays hard in Armenia and Uzbekistan
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A Catalan businessman of Armenian origin is promoting two sports, tourism and residential complexes in the Central Asian countries.
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The projects, with an initial investment of 18 million, will revolve around soccer schools licensed by a major club.
ANNA PINTER – BARCELONA
Petrosyan Group, a holding company founded and led by the Catalan businessman of Armenian origin Sedrak Petrosyan, is promoting two major urban development projects around soccer in Armenia and Uzbekistan. The developments, which include hotels and residential areas, total an initial investment of more than 18 million euros, partly earmarked for the acquisition of two plots of land of 30 and 145 hectares in the respective countries. “Each of the two projects will have a soccer field and a professional soccer academy licensed by a major club,” explains Sedrak Petrosyan. The businessman says he is in talks with five major European teams, including FC Barcelona, to participate in the sporting part of the complexes. The deal could be finalized by mid-February.
“The soccer club that finally signs the agreement on these projects will contribute its brand image and know-how to professionally train boys and girls in the two Asian countries,” explains Sedrak Petrosyan.
Once the project is completed, the Armenian complex will be valued at 60 million euros and the Uzbekistan complex at 400 million euros, estimates the CEO of the business group.
With regard to the financing of the operations, Petrosyan says that it will be partly financed by the group’s own funds and partly by contributions from other business partners. T he participating soccer club is not expected to make any financial contribution beyond the involvement of the brand.
Development phase
The Uzbekistan project is located near Tashkent, the capital of the former Soviet republic. In addition to sports facilities, it will feature hotel complexes and a residential area for around 125,000 inhabitants which, according to Sedrak Petrosyan, will be inspired by the urban planning model of Barcelona. “The city project will be carried out by Catalan architects and urban planners,” he stresses.
As for the Armenian project, it is at a less advanced stage of development and will be one third of the Tashkent project.
Less than 30 years old
This young entrepreneur, who is not even in his thirties, created the group in 2017. Initially focused on audiovisual production, he has progressively expanded his business into new areas such as tourism, the commerce sector, logistics and real estate development. More recently, it has added international investment consulting. In order to open up in each of the business lines, the group has been founding new firms that are linked to the parent company. At the same time, the group has invested in about ten companies that were in a critical situation and, after their incorporation, has subsequently restructured and sold them. The holding company employs 83 people directly, distributed among the various companies, and a number of external collaborators.
Last year, Petrosyan Group closed with a turnover of 25 million euros from the sum of all business lines.
One of the initial businesses that helped give the group wings was the organization of weddings for Russian millionaires in European locations, which involved an initial injection of high capital.
Sedrak Petrosyan also promoted the Don Barbero chain of barbershops, a business model in the sector that combined luxury barbershops and a private club, with establishments in Barcelona and Girona.
Consulting for investors
Recently, and after the group’s own experience in investments in Armenia, Petrosyan Group has created a company dedicated to consulting for companies interested in investing in Armenia. “We accompany the foreign investor in his implementation plans in that country,” explains the CEO, who assures that the former Soviet republic has deployed a series of measures to attract international capital to make the country very attractive. “Armenia is one of the seven safest states in the world and has very beneficial tax and bureaucratic facilities for setting up companies. The last company we launched there, it took us hours to set it up,” says Petroysan, who acknowledges that the Kardashian family has contributed substantially to putting Armenia on the map and that, with the Russia-Ukraine war, Armenia has ended up hosting a good part of the Russian company that wants to continue trading in Europe or the US. The firm is advising different Catalan companies interested in establishing themselves in this market in the coming months, especially in the technological area.
The general manager of the business group explains that the next step will be the opening of EuroAsian Economic Circle, a firm based in Catalonia that aims to serve as a bridge between both territories, Catalonia and Central Asia. The new company will accompany companies that want to establish themselves in those markets, whether they are large companies or small entrepreneurs.
Sedrak Petrosyan, who came to live in Catalonia when he was a child, explains that making his home country known and bringing the two worlds closer together had been one of his personal ambitions for years. “Today, our plans for growth as a group include this business area, dedicated to connecting both territories entrepreneurially,” he says.
Petrosyan Group