GINO Holding a.s. , which is behind successful Slovak projects such as the aquapark in Bešeňová or the manor house in Orlov, is coming up with a unique offer of investment apartments in Tbilisi, Georgia. A luxury district is being built there, which combines residential living with recreational opportunities a stone's throw from the city centre. Viktor Čumakov, Project Manager at GINO Holding a.s., talks about the benefits of investing in Tbilisi Boulevard - Little Slovakia.

You were the first to bring to Slovakia the concept of investment apartments in the AKVAMARIN hotel in Bešeňová. How did the clients react to it then and what is their attitude towards such an investment today?

Bešeňová is a phenomenon in Slovakia. The founder of the company Nodari Giorgadze built the most famous recreation and relaxation area with an aquapark in Slovakia on this very spot from one spring, around which a few local people gathered. It offers visitors relaxation, entertainment and health care, which is why there was interest in selling the apartments from the beginning. People enthusiastically accepted the opportunity to invest with a good value and, in addition, the possibility to use their apartment free of charge for up to thirty days a year.

Why is such investing profitable and why should clients place their investment capital in these properties? 

Compare this to investing in securities, for example, which often offer the same returns. The bonus that clients get when investing in an investment suite is that at the end of the day, they get the principal plus a pre-agreed interest, and in addition to that interest, they are left with a property whose value will not be eroded by inflation. Moreover, as long as the property is situated in an attractive and unique environment, which the Aquamarine Hotel certainly is, its value will increase even more over the years.

Are Slovaks also interested in investing in real estate abroad? Was this one of the reasons why you decided to build the Tbilisi Boulevard - Little Slovakia project? 

We bet on the name of the company and the GINO brand, which we have been building for years and has a good reputation not only in Slovakia. Our clientele is not only from Slovakia, but also from across the Morava River. In Bešeňová we have made a good "mark": first we built a unique aquapark with accommodation, where we fully exploited the potential of the area, and later, during the lockdowns, we were the only ones in the region to complete the construction of a hotel with 235 investment apartments, which are directly on the premises of the aquapark. This has deepened our clients' trust and many of them are now continuing with us in Tbilisi.

The name Little Slovakia already refers to our country, the project is being built by a Slovak company with Slovak suppliers. Why did you decide to go this way and not use local companies?

Let me put it in the words of the company's general manager, Dr Nodari Giorgadze, who says that as a Georgian he brought a part of Georgia to Slovakia. Three of the hotels in Besenova bear his grandchildren's names and he even lived in Besenova with his whole family during the construction and left his heart here. As he says himself, he does not regret it, because it was a beautiful stage of his life. Now the time has come for him, as a Slovak, to bring a part of Slovakia to Georgia, and that is why he wants to build a project called Little Slovakia here.

From the beginning, GINO Holding has maintained the philosophy that every investor is also our partner.

Viktor Chumakov

So can we say that your potential investors will feel at home with you?  

From the beginning, our company's philosophy has been that each of our investors is also our partner. Just like the projects in Slovakia, we are building Tbilisi Boulevard - Little Slovakia together with our partners. They invest in the project together with us financially, and we bring our knowledge, know-how, as well as the wealth of experience we have gained over the years. We are convinced that only together can we achieve great things, only together can we look each other in the eye, shake hands and say that we have successfully come a long way.

How is the construction of the project currently progressing and what are your plans for the near future? 

In 2014, we built a copy of the Besenov aquapark by the "Tbilisi Sea". The year 2023 was in the spirit of the opening of the GINO Seaside Tbilisi ***** hotel, a building with 218 investment suites, which is right in the area of the waterpark. Today, we are continuing to build the project on this land and we are at the beginning of the construction, where on 30 hectares will grow within seven years a super-luxury estate that will become a new luxury district in Tbilisi, located a few kilometers from the historic center. The gated and guarded resort will provide permanent housing for 3,500 people, as well as a hotel, an office building with a large congress hall, a school, a kindergarten, a health centre, an outlet and sports facilities. A large promenade on the shore of the Tbilisi sea, lined with cafes, restaurants and shops, will be the dominant feature. It is also our intention to de-clutter the project from cars, so it will not be possible to park directly next to the buildings. However, we will of course build a car park within the site and each building will have its own underground garage.

What will the client get if he decides to invest in your Georgian project? 

We offer clients a fixed return paid quarterly and a ten-year lease. Since no one is sure what will happen after ten years, and we want the future owner not to worry about their investment, we offer future owners a buy-back option at the end of the lease of 130-140% of the purchase price of the apartment.

Our clients also have the option of a 14-day owner's stay, which means that they do not pay for accommodation during these days. In addition, they get a 50% discount on entry to the GINO Paradise water park. The benefit is that they can use this stay already during the construction of their own apartment with the possibility of staying at the GINO Seaside Tbilisi Hotel *****, located just a few meters away from the Tbilisi sea right in the waterpark area.

What returns can clients expect from their investment?

The yield as well as the redemption depends mainly on the chosen programme. Specifically, we are talking about a yield of between 6 and 7 per cent per annum. Clients also have an immediate yield, which we pay out after the signing of the future purchase agreement, of 2-3 per cent per annum. Thus, the property is already earning money for clients during construction.

How does the whole process work? Is it possible for investors to get an apartment without visiting Boulevard Tbilisi - Little Slovakia? 

We are open to any kind of cooperation and clients can of course buy an apartment in our project directly from Slovakia. We will be happy to welcome every potential client to our offices, where we will present the project to them by means of a virtual tour.

However, our recommendation is to visit Tbilisi Boulevard - Little Slovakia directly, which will give them a better idea of the project. For anyone who has purchased an apartment with us, we already allow free accommodation at the GINO Seaside Tbilisi***** hotel during the construction of the project as part of the owner's stay, which is just a few meters from the construction site. Over the course of seven days, clients can not only become better acquainted with the project, but also enjoy relaxing in the water park and discover the beauty of Tbilisi and its more than one thousand five hundred years of history. All information can be found on our website www.ginoparadise.sk.