How we manage our portfolio companies

Georgia Capital sees strong value creation opportunity in the auto services industry, which is currently a very fragmented market with approximately GEL 2.8 billion annual revenues. The Group aims to build a diversified business model with a digital platform combining different auto-related services: car services and parts, secondary car trading, car insurance and periodic technical inspection (PTI).

Investment rationale

• Georgia’s Auto park continues to grow steadily, with 7.4% CAGR during the years 2012-2019
• Georgia lags behind developed countries by number of private passenger cars per capita, showing room for further growth* 
• Vehicles older than 10 years represent 90% of total auto park 

Value creation potential

• Room for growth in the highly fragmented auto service market in Georgia with approximately GEL 2.8 billion annual revenues
• In July 2018, the business (Greenway Georgia or “GWG”) won state tender to launch and operate 51 periodic technical inspection lines across Georgia with a 10-year license 
• Currently, inspection covers the basic technical control of vehicles. The government plans to gradually tighten procedures to try and reduce the level of harmful emissions* 
• GWG is the only player on the market with support from an international partner, Applus+, a Spain-headquartered worldwide leader in testing, inspection and certification services, with a market presence in more than 70 countries

* Source: GALT & TAGGART

Georgia Capital has entered the high growth digital sector by acquiring a 60% equity stake in Redberry, a leading Georgian digital marketing agency. The acquisition of the attractive service business complements our existing portfolio as well as provides an opportunity to enhance digital capabilities across our portfolio businesses. The acquisition of Redberry enables us to have a platform for investments in the digital business.

Beverages combines three business lines: a wine business, a beer business and a distribution business. Our wine business produces and sells wine locally and exports to 18 countries. Our beer business produces and sells beer and carbonated soft drinks mainly locally and owns a 10-year exclusive license from Heineken to produce Heineken beer brands in Georgia and sell them in the South Caucasus. 

Investment rationale

• Georgia is considered the “cradle of wine” with a rich, 8,000-year history of wine-making and home to over 500 unique grape varieties
• Georgia’s favorable trade regimes (free trade agreements with EU and China) provide potential for export growth for beverages
• Growing urbanization and tourism inflows are raising demand for bottled wine locally 
• Strong demand in the Georgia’s export markets resulted in a 9% y-o-y increase in volume in 2019, with export bottles sold reaching a 14 year high of 93 million
• Georgia falls behind beer consumption per capita against EU

• Best-in-class distribution network platform
• Grow vineyard base to 1,000 hectares, from current 704 hectares  
• 10-year exclusivity (from 2015) from Heineken to produce and sell beer in Georgia
• One of the strongest brand equity across Georgian beer market

Hospitality and Commercial Real Estate business is comprised of: (a) rent-earning commercial assets with targeted 10% yield; and (b) hotel development business across Georgia with targeted more than 1,000 rooms.
The hotel development business has confirmed 1,222 rooms, of which 273 are operational and 949 are in the pipeline. The targeted hotel portfolio comprises c. 630 internationally branded hotel rooms and c. 592 hotels rooms under the business’s own brands developed by Amber Group. However, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, two operational hotels are closed and rented to the government for quarantine, constructions of new hotels have been put on hold until there is more certainty regarding the effects of COVID-19 on the business landscape and the Georgian economy.

• We are re-evaluating our commitment to develop the hospitality business in light of the continuing uncertainty regarding the effects of COVID-19.

Pre Covid-19 strategy

• Increased number of tourists visiting Georgia every year: 5.1 million visitors in 2019, up 6.8% y-o-y, 9.9% CAGR over the last six years.
• Tourism inflows up 1.4% y-o-y from US$ 3.2 billion to US$ 3.3 billion in 2019; 11.5% CAGR over the last six years.
• Grow Portfolio of rent-earning assets through residential developments/opportunistic acquisitions
• Reach more than 1,000 hotel rooms. Currently approximately 1,222 rooms are confirmed, of which 273 are operational, 460 are under construction and 489 are under design stage.
• Targeting mostly 3-star and 4-star hotels, mostly taping unpenetrated markets in Georgian regions

Our renewable energy business is a platform for developing hydro and wind power plants across Georgia.

Following the buyout of the 34.4% minority shareholder in GRPC on 25 February 2020, Georgia Capital’s renewable energy business consists of the following wholly-owned commissioned renewable assets: 50MW Mestiachala HPPs and 21MW Hydrolea HPPs and 21MW Qartli wind farm. In addition, the business has a pipeline of up to 350MW renewable energy projects in the medium term.

Investment rationale

• Growing electricity market as supply lags behind the increasing demand, creating opportunities.
• Underutilized energy resources - availability of economically feasible hydro and wind projects. 
• Cheap to develop – up to US$1.5mln for 1MW hydro and up to US$1.4mln for wind development on average with 1.5x higher capacity factors compared to Europe over the last decade.

Value creation potential

• Opportunity to establish a renewable energy platform with up to 440 MW operating capacity over the medium-term, targeting to capture approximately one third of deregulated electricity market 
• Energy consumption is expected to grow at least by CAGR 5% over the next 10-15 years on the back of following key drivers:  
  • GDP growth with pronounced growth in electricity-heavy sectors
  • Increasing penetration of domestic appliances, with accelerating imports of electricity-intensive conventional domestic devices
  • Increasing number of installed residential and industrial air conditioning systems on the back of decreasing unit prices, expected to result in at least 5x growth in penetration level over the next decade
• Stable dividend provider capacity in the medium term

Our education business currently combines majority stakes in three leading private schools, acquired in 2H19: British-Georgian Academy (70% stake), the leading school in the premium segment of the market; Buckswood International School (80% stake), well-positioned in the mid-level segment and Green School (80%-90% ownership - different ownership stakes in existing and upcoming schools to be developed under Green School Brand), a leading player in the affordable education segment. Georgia Capital aims to increase numbers of learners from current 2,524 learners to 27,000 learners by 2025.

Industry investment rationale

• Highly fragmented private school market
• Large and growing market
• Efficiency upside
• High trading multiples
• Low base – 3.8% of GDP, compared to EU average of 4.6%*

* Latest available data: World bank, Eurostat

Property and Casualty Insurance (P&C Insurance) is a leading player in the local P&C insurance market with a 26.4% market share based on gross earned premiums. P&C Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products to Georgian corporates and retail through five business lines: motor, property, credit life, liability and other insurance services.

Investment rationale

• Significantly underpenetrated P&C insurance market in Georgia (0.6% penetration)
• Market leader with a powerful distribution network of point of sale and sales agents

 Value creation potential

• Compulsory border TPL effective from 1 March 2018
• Local TPL expected to kick in and provide access to untapped retail CASCO insurance market with only 7% existing penetration
• Increasing footprint in untapped MSME sector, where Aldagi’s revenues have grown by 62% in 1H20 to GEL 0.6mln 
• Developing and introducing new digital channels to simplify purchase of insurance products
• Undisputed leader in providing insurance solutions to corporate clients

Housing Development is a leading real estate developer in the US$1.6 billion Georgian real estate market with three business lines: (a) a residential development arm targeting mainly mass market customers by offering affordable, high quality and comfortable housing; (b) a construction arm, engaging in construction contracts for our other businesses as well as third-parties; and (c) distressed asset management arm developing suspended projects.

Investment rationale

• Shortage of housing from Soviet era combined with Georgian tradition of multi generations living under one roof - average household size is significantly higher at 3.3 compared to Eastern or Western Europe
• Most of the housing stock dates back to Soviet era and is amortised
• In line with the economic growth, urbanization level is expected to increase from current low level

Value creation potential

• Unlock land value by developing housing projects
• Earn Construction management fees from third-party projects and bring construction works in-house

Our Water Utility is a regulated monopoly in Tbilisi and the surrounding area, where it provides water and wastewater services to 1.4 million residents representing more than one-third of Georgia’s population and c. 36,000 legal entities. Water Utility also operates hydro power plants with total installed capacity of 149 MW.

Investment rationale

• Regulated monopoly in Tbilisi and surrounding districts with high entry barriers
• Sectoral output increasing at a robust growth rate (on average 9.5% in the last 10 years)
• Stable regulatory environment with fair return on investment
• Stable cash collection rates
• Diversified cash flow streams from water and electricity sales, the latter being linked to US dollars

Value creation potential

• EU harmonization reforms in progress in utilities sector, expected to drive water tariffs up
• Energy market deregulation positively affecting electricity sales price
• Upside opportunity from efficiency gains - continued decrease in self-consumption of energy, freeing up electricity for market sales
• Stable dividend distribution capacity