Samolet Seeks 50B Rubles State Aid; Experts React
Developer Samolet has approached the state for financial support. The company«s press service explained on its website that this is needed to reduce the company»s financial burden. MSK1.RU, together with experts, looked into why the company took this step and what apartment buyers should expect now.
What happened
Recently, the group of companies announced that it had repaid most of its debts — bonds worth 15.2 billion rubles ($152 million at current rates) out of a total issue of 24.5 billion rubles ($245 million at current rates). However, on 4 February, RBC reported citing a source that the developer had approached the government for assistance.
The request is reportedly for a soft loan of 50 billion rubles ($500 million at current rates) over three years. The company may provide the state with a blocking stake with the right to repurchase at a new price. Against this backdrop, the developer«s shares fell nearly 7%.
On 5 February, Samolet confirmed its request. The company noted that in 2025 it reduced its debt by 28 billion rubles ($280 million at current rates) and described the request for support as normal market practice.
«The company»s strategic shareholders confirm to us their long-term plans for business development and maintaining a stable shareholder structure; providing a blocking stake as collateral is a standard mechanism for obtaining such financing. Samolet has always fulfilled and continues to fulfill all its obligations,« said the developer»s financial director Nina Golubnichaya.
Expert opinion
Experts interviewed by MSK1.RU explained that the company has indeed been very active in recent years and even taken leading positions in several cities, including the Moscow region, but has not adapted to the new realities.
«Such an active policy is justified during a period of growth, but one needs to adjust in time when conditions change. The Samolet group, unfortunately, did not account for the rise in the key rate and the corresponding increase in mortgage rates for commercial mortgage lending, as well as changes in the terms of subsidized mortgage programs for new builds,» explains Alexander Tsyganov, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, to MSK1.RU.
Alexander Tsyganov, head of the Department of Mortgage Lending and Financial Instruments of the Real Estate Market, also links Samolet«s request to the return of fines for breaching shared construction contracts. The expert notes that compensation is large if a finished apartment is purchased under a sale and purchase agreement and significant defects are discovered.
One of the founders of the Samolet group of companies, 56-year-old Mikhail Kenin, died on 10 August 2025. He was on the developer«s board of directors and was the largest shareholder with 30% of shares.
Realtor and real estate expert Natalya Pereskokova, in conversation with MSK1.RU, notes that the aggressive growth model with land purchases, rapid launch of new projects, and reliance on project financing and bonds has failed, and the company is in an unstable position.
«This is one of the most indebted developers on the market. The key rate has risen sharply, mortgages for buyers have become more expensive, banks have tightened conditions, and the cost of servicing debt has increased many times over,» Natalya Pereskokova tells MSK1.RU.
The realtor also believes that «alarm bells» in the form of delayed construction projects have been present for a long time. However, Natalya Pereskokova notes that this is unlikely to be the developer«s downfall: Samolet will probably shift from turbo-growth to protective mode.
«This involves slowing the launch of new projects, selling part of the land bank, focusing on completing what has been started, especially since the moratorium on completion deadlines has been lifted. And, of course, negotiations with banks and investors. I did not recommend Samolet apartments to clients, but I hope the company will recover rather than disappear,» Natalya Pereskokova explains to MSK1.RU.
Both experts believe that the government will approve the option of direct financial support. In turn, Alexander Tsyganov believes that delays, though not very large, should be expected.
«There is a risk that you will have to wait for an apartment longer than expected. But Russia has experience working with troubled developers; there have been such cases in the history of the last 30 years. That the apartment will be completed is almost guaranteed,» says the professor.
A reassuring factor, Tsyganov adds, could be the experience of the Fund for the Protection of Shared-Construction Participants« Rights (now the Territorial Development Fund). It has well-established methods for protecting the rights of shared-equity participants.
«I believe that one or another restructuring option will be implemented at Samolet — as stated in their letter: a »blocking stake to the state« and financial support. At the same time, the company itself and its current owners want to preserve it, which also inspires some optimism,» he notes.
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