By Panos Bletsos
October 12 – The future for Greek side PAOK looks increasingly bright as its Greek-Russian entrepreneur, Ivan Savvidis, has made clear once again that he has come to stay in his land of origin, expanding his business interests in the region.
The PAOK football club owner secured the lease of Thessaloniki’s famous Makedonia Palace hotel for another three decades and looks set to further expand his business network in the country.
Inaugurated in 1972 on the coast of Thermaikos bay, right next to Thessaloniki’s most famous monument, the White Tower, this five-star hotel became a part of the city’s history and culture before closing its doors due to financial difficulties in December 2012.
Savvidis, who had become PAOK’s major shareholder four months earlier, jumped at the chance and initially leased Makedonia Palace for 12 months via his company White & Black for a total rent of €1.14 million plus a 10% tax payment to the Greek state.
Greece’s largest public social security agency IKA-TEAM, then launched an open bidding for a private company to run the hotel for the next 30 years. This Friday it was confirmed that the bidding contest was won by LLC Atlantis Pak, another Savvidis firm, together with the Aldemar Group (comprising of luxury hotels in Crete, Rhodes and Olympia).
According to the now penned deal the yearly rent has risen to €1.722 million, while IKA-TEAM will also receive between 8-12% of the hotel’s annual turnover. The new leaseholders hold the option of extending the contract by another decade, but are also obliged to renovate and upgrade the landmark buildings.
Besides Makedonia Palace and PAOK, Savvidis also acquired 82% of tobacco firm SEKAP last February.
Born in Tsalka, Georgia and of Pontian descent, the former member of the State Duma became one of Russia’s wealthiest men after becoming the major shareholder of Russia’s largest tobacco company, Donskoy Tabak, in the 1990s.
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