Autogrill starts up in Russia

Milan , 05 September 2013 - Autogrill Group (Milan: AGL IM), through its HMSHost International division, has entered an agreement with Novikov Group and Ginza Project to set up Autogrill Russia, the Newco that will provide food&beverage services at St. Petersburg Pulkovo International Airport. Under the terms of the agreement, the new company (60% HMSHost International, 40% split equally between the two partners), will operate eight points of sale in the airport for seven years. The concession is expected to generate total revenues of around €130m in the period 2014 to 2021.

Russia has experienced a period of intense growth in recent years and seen significant increases in standards of living. Forecasts continue to see sustained GDP growth, also driven by development of transport and infrastructure for the hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics and of the 2018 FIFA World cup (source: OECD, 2013).

The food & beverage offering in the stores in Terminal A and the new North Pier (intercontinental flights) will have an original mix of local and international concepts. Autogrill will be introducing brands like Kamchatka, a typical ‘70s Russian-style pub created by celebrity chef Arkady Novikov and featuring Russian food specialities, and O’Reilly’s Irish Pub, an authentic Irish pub. There will also be Autogrill-developed concepts like Puro Gusto, a coffee & bakery shop with an international offering, and Ice Bar, a metropolitan style lounge bar.

St. Petersburg Pulkovo International Airport

With over 11 million passengers , of whom over 50% international, Pulkovo is Russia’s 3rd biggest airport. Set to become one of the main Baltic airports, with a forecast 17 million annual passengers by 2020, it is served by around 80 airlines – including flag carriers like Russya and Aeroflot, and international lines like Emirates, Alitalia, British Airways, Air France, Klm and Lufthansa – linking the city to the main national and international destinations. More in general, a major investment programme now underway to upgrade Russia’s air transport sector is expected to involve the construction of around 100 new runways by 2020 to meet forecast growth in traffic over the coming years (source: Russian Transport Ministry).