Full legal support and mediation between an investor and the government of Georgia under the project: tourist center in the “City of Roses” in Imereti

The government presents at the investment auction in Georgia new objects of real estate in replacement of already sold ones. Attractiveness of this project is due to chances of purchasing property at fair prices along with the simplified procedure of privatization. Owing to this, investors who want to open a company in Georgia or expand the existing business may purchase an asset while saving their time and money.

The investment project we offer for consideration as a potential asset for purchase is a big tourist center in the municipality Bagdati in Imereti. It will be perfect for investors who want to open a hotel in Georgia. Moreover, today it is one of the most popular and profitable trends in the country where non-residents actively forward their investments. For 9 months of 2019, 140,7 mln. USD were invested particularly in hotel and restaurant business, which is 126,6% more than for a similar period of last year. This is the second index of attracted investments among industries of Georgia.

By addressing our company Offshore Pro Group, you obtain a full-scale and diversified legal support, as well as possibility of direct contact with the government of Georgia. If necessary, we may organize a meeting with a representative of the Georgian privatization committee so that you could discuss vital issues regarding purchase of an asset at the auction. With our support, you save time and money that would be wasted on studying of peculiarities of the Georgian legislation and mentality. Our lawyers have a comprehensive knowledge of the Georgian laws, wide experience of working in Georgia, and are native speakers of Georgian language. The price of legal support and mediation with the Georgian government starts from 3 000 EUR.

Why investments in the Georgian real estate are so attractive in 2020?

Georgia positions itself around the world as a tourist country. Every year more and more travelers arrive here; e.g. in 2018 the number of foreign citizens who visited Georgia made 8,7 mln. people, in 2019 the number exceeded 9,3 mln. Travelers are attracted by beautiful nature, mountains and the Black Sea, great number of historical sights, tasty and diverse cuisine, wine and chacha.

Nevertheless, the local government plans to further promote Georgia. As early as until 2025, Georgia plans to host at least 11 mln. people every year. To realize the set goals, the Georgian government is actively promoting the country using international mass media and specialized Internet portals, and arranges meetings with the leading tour operators. In that way, in the end of November 2019 the British Association of Tour Operators named Georgia the best tourist trend of 2020; a similar statement was made by the tourist web portal “Travel Lemming”.

Meanwhile, Georgia is gradually becoming the center of international business of the region. The country had established ideal conditions for making business, which is verified by its high positions in the rating Doing Business, where it has been listed among TOP-10 for two years in a row. On top of it all, the Georgian government applies the active global policy aimed at simplification of access to markets of other countries for Georgian manufacturers. Georgia is leading among countries of the region by the number of applicable agreements on free trade. Such agreements were concluded with: China, EU countries, Great Britain, EFTA countries, CIS, Ukraine, Turkey, and Hong Kong.

Among other benefits of the Georgian jurisdiction are:

• high level of business confidentiality: there are no specific registers of beneficiaries in Georgia; also, the country does not participate in the automatic exchange of financial information within CRS;
• low cost of bank services, electric energy, cheap workforce;
• simplicity of registration of a company even by non-residents;
• possibility of tax optimization.

Learn more about advantages of business in Free industrial zones of Georgia: Kutaisi, Poti, Tbilisi.

The growing flow of tourists, as well as increasing number of travelers coming for business purposes promote the demand for real estate in Georgia, therefore making this trend an attractive investment, particularly hotel business. Not in vain 7 out of 10 international hotel networks are represented in Georgia and are actively expanding their presence in its regions.

Business in Georgia: investments in big tourist complex in Imereti

A very attractive lot is for sale at the auction in Georgia, which arouses big interest among businessmen dealing with hotels:

big area of non-agricultural land of 73 500 sq.m. with structures, located in the village Vartsihe, the municipality Bagdati

Business in Georgia: acquaintance with the region the lot belongs to

The municipality Bagdati belongs to the land Imereti, with the namesake city as its center. As of 1 January 2018, approximately 20 000 people live in the municipality. There are almost no towns or villages here, only the forest and mountains.

Bagdati is the biggest town in the municipality, where approximately 5 thousand people live. It is located 25 kilometers to the South of Kutaisi, on the bank of the river Hanitskali, at the crossing of highways Kutaisi-Abastumni and Vani-Zestafoni. This town is famous as the motherland of Vladimir Mayakovski. During a certain period it had born the name of the legendary poet. Also, Bagdati has an important transport designation as the road to the ski resort Sairme runs here (approx. 40 km).

The town has almost no specifically interesting places. In general, all shops, supermarkets, cafes and bank branches are concentrated around two squares. Here you will find the remains of the fortress Tkhmeli that was built by Turks in the XVIII century.

The climate of the region is humid subtropical, with warm soft winter and a relatively hot summer. The average annual temperature is 14 °C, in January – 4,4 °C, in July – 23 °C.

The region has not specific industries; most of the population is engaged in agriculture and wine production.

The region is reasonable to use as a resort; there is already one commercially viable resort here, Sairme, with beautiful nature and many free sources of mineral water.

Business in Georgia: location of the land area

The land area for sale is located in the village Vartsihe belonging to the Bagdati municipality. The village is in the Western part of Georgia, in the Imereti lowland near the confluence of rivers Rioni and Hanitskali approximately 17 km far from Bagdati and 13 km far from Kutaisi. The population of Vartsihe is approximately 1,5 thousand people..

This place has quite an ancient history. Vartsihe was mentioned by Byzantine authors; that time it was called Rodopolis, which literally translates as “City of Roses”. The Georgian name Vartsihe means “Fortress of Rose”. The town had an important strategic designation, and therefore the East Roman and Sasanian empires had been constantly fighting for it in the VI century. As early as in the period from the XV to the XIX century, the castle of the Imereti king was located here. The castle ruins are listed among cultural monuments of the national importance in Georgia.

Currently, the village Vartsihe is famous for grapes which are used for production of the well-known cognac (manufactured since 1945).

Please also note that the land area for sale is in pedestrian proximity from the reservation area Ajameti, where rare relict Imereti oaks and zelkovas grow.

The land area is located in the Northern part of the village (3,7 km to the center). There are several houses around, but the residential area itself is located a little farther. At a distance 500 m to the South there is the reservation area Ajameti, 400 m to the West – the river Hanitskali that merges with the river Rioni.

Right next to the land area is the important highway Kutaisi-Abastumni.

Business in Georgia: characteristics of the land area

The land area occupies 73 500 sq.m. It has buildings, water reservoirs, and metal structures on it; trees and even palms grow here.

Buildings are in relatively good state and can be used after reconstruction. Buildings’ areas: 1 248,4 sq.m., 319,46 sq.m., 82,21 sq.m., 31,02 sq.m., 27,5 sq.m., 14,10 sq.m., 8,31 sq.m., 6,96 sq.m., 9,91 sq.m. and three buildings with a similar area — 27,58 sq.m.

Entry to the land area is closed with a fence; it is possible to enter the territory only through the gates.

It should be mentioned that the building on the land area has a status of cultural heritage; also, limitations apply to the area of 2 059 sq.m. There is also a high voltage line 10 kW on the area; the highway Kutaisi-Bagdati-Abastumani-Benara runs nearby. Therefore, construction works need to be approved by the JSC “Energo pro Georgia” and the Department of Automobile Roads of Georgia.

Terms of the auction for sale of the land area

To purchase an attractive lot at the state auction in Georgia, you need to win the auction under the following terms:

• starting price of the lot – 1 370 000 lari;
• minimum bid increment – 5 000 lari;
• minimum amount of guarantee – 685 000 lari. How to pay the guarantee: by cash in Liberty Bank, by payment card on the auction site, or by activating an irrevocable bank guarantee;
• minimum period of guarantee deposit – 60 calendar days;
• final price of the lost should be paid within 45 calendar days upon termination of the auction.

A participant of the auction should note that the winner bears quite many obligations:

• within 48 months it is necessary to establish the Tourist Center with premises for leisure, pedestrian walkways, outer lighting, and an arranged 6-suite hotel in the building of cultural heritage, etc. Establishment of the tourist center will require investment of at least 4 mln. lari;
• provide operation of the tourist center within at least 10 years;
• upon fulfillment of obligations on restoration of the infrastructure of the Tourist Center, to hire at least 20 people for a period of 2 years minimum;
• to sign an agreement with the National Agency on Preservation of Cultural heritage for keeping of the memorial in the status of the privatized cultural heritage, within 1 month upon signing of an agreement;
• residential houses may not be built on the land area for 15 years; the existing buildings should not be used for housing purposes;
• to provide fulfillment of investment obligations, the auction winner must present to the Agency on Management and Development of Assets a bank guarantee in amount 10% of 4 000 000 lari within 1 month upon termination of the auction. A bank guarantee should be issued by a Georgian bank for a period exceeding the term of fulfillment of investment obligations for 4 months (i.e. for 52 months).

Besides the abovementioned, the auction winner must within 45 calendar days sign the purchase and sale agreement for property at the National Agency of State Property. Otherwise, results of the auction will be cancelled and the guarantee deposit will be forwarded to the budget.

How to participate in the auction in Georgia having an advantage

The company Offshore Pro Group will provide full-scale legal support to participants of the auction, which allow them strengthening their positions during the process. This also allows saving powers and resources when studying the peculiarities of the Georgian legislation. Moreover, we may organize a meeting with a representative of the Georgian government to discuss the terms of purchase of real estate.

To obtain the abovementioned benefits, you need to:

1. Contact us via email: [email protected], with stating your contact details.
2. Agree with our consultant on terms of cooperation.
3. Pay the price of services according to the invoice by any available means.

If you are interested in buying real estate in Georgia at an auction, or buying real estate in Tbilisi or other regions of the country, registration of company in Georgia, resident permit in Georgia, feel free to contact us right now [email protected]. We will get back to you in the nearest future to answer all your questions.