Interview with York Holding Group’s Amr Alabwaz

O.K.

York Holding Group’s success story began in the year 2016 when it commenced operations as York Towers LLC and since then it evolved and now counts up to 20 delivered residential complexes and landmark projects. Later, York Holding Group emerged as a multifaceted organization playing an important role in Georgia’s real estate industry. Holding has already gone to more than three continents with the operations but never stops. Recently, YHG launched a holding transformation which is explained below in an interview with the Founder and CEO of York Holding Group Mr. Amr Alabwaz. 

Looking back now, did your company achieve what you hoped it would?

That is a good point to start. We have positioned York Towers as one of the leading international companies in Georgia. Well, some spend decades to have that strong standing on market, but we did it in 6 years. I can confidently say that we at York Holding Group are looking forward to a bright future. Since our formation over 6 years ago, we have grown to become one of the most important players in this industry. This was at a time when the Georgian Real Estate market was just starting to attract foreign investors. Today we have up to 450 employees and USD 200 Mln invested in the Georgian economy with plans for much more investment on the way – a testament to the important role our Group plays in the country’s prosperity. 

What is your development strategy?

Our development strategy is based on the principles of honesty, transparency, and good corporate governance. We are committed to supporting the development of Georgia’s emerging economy, and to helping our customers, as well as business partners, achieve their goals by providing quality construction services that meet or exceed specifications. For now, we are very successful on three continents. Each year we expand and we keep going on. The answer to the question is YES - York Towers achieved what I hoped, but for now, in order to grow permanently we have we have by far more aspiring plans and challenges. 

Are they related to full rebranding or just market expansion, or re-styling to cope with the perceptions of “global citizens”?

We always consider the perceptions of our markets and when needed do re-styling, but in this case, we talk about full rebranding. York Towers, as the developer, went under the umbrella of York Holding Group which also holds and operates its own construction company Zaha Construction. With customers and partners, we have never backed down from challenges; we’ve always been ambitious to grow. Our transformation allowed us to mature, while also increasing the scope of the holding activities and broadening our perspectives and opportunities for development. With just under a decade of industry experience, York Holding Group is an investment & development company that has carefully crafted long-term strategic goals uniquely placed to create residential, commercial, and hospitality destinations that reinforce Georgia’s position as the location of choice in the region in which to reside and invest. 

You mentioned “uniquely”; is there a special asset with which YT projects are distinguished or have an outstanding concept?

In order to shape the country’s greenest and most eco-friendly real estate developments, we are focusing on sustainable development and environmentally safe urban living spaces, where people can live, work and enjoy time spent with loved ones. Our unique approach is to better life by creating a friendly environment with modern facilities that enable customers to live healthier, happier lives. Our signature project, the York Town is a premium residential complex in Tabakhmela that offers customers an opportunity to live in absolute seclusion in the lap of luxury at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level, 20 minutes drive from the City Centre, but at the same time in a quit a green zone. The Lisi View project is a combination of premium quality villas and apartments on top of Tbilisi City and closer to Lisi Lake, Tbilisi’s one of most visited recreational locations. The Lisi Perspective is our newest development that is considered to be a double perspective. This is a complex with 8 exclusive design villas each of them offering astonishing day-night views of the Capital of Georgia.

So you concentrate on Tbilisi & its Surroundings only?

No, of course. Regional development. Since 2016, we researched, observed, and we saw a huge rebound coming in Batumi markets with real estate and hospitality. During the hardest times for the Georgian economy - post-Covid period - we did the $27mn investment by acquiring the largest complex in Batumi. We named it Bianca Batumi, and it practically formed a new hotelier district in coastal Georgia, which considers 2 global hotel brands in addition to 6 huge residential buildings. Bianca Batumi already became our "investment star". 

Moreover, we practically will change the value of Dusheti region very soon.  Bazaleti Resort - a 2mn sqm project with hotels, villas, and commercial and landmark spots; This is a new shopping and leisure destination that will bring together the immediate catchment and beyond to meet, explore, shop, eat and drink. We also went to Mtskheta. Soon we will add an international destination milestone to this historic and fantastic old city. And that’s not all… soon you will hear about our new developments overseas. 

Supposedly, transformation is not only creating the parent holding and pillar brand. Are there any structural changes planned to evolve the holding?

KROY - the reversal of YORK. But this is not only about naming. We are fully transforming holding to create a vibrant, stable, and innovative work atmosphere where people are valued, engaged, and appreciated and which ensures organization stability and effectiveness. We will concentrate on knowing our people, bringing business responsibilities to the top, and inspiring more and more. One of the most powerful parts of KROY is so-called Orange Leadership, which is the know-how of Holding’s newly assigned C-Level management and is aimed at a) effective transformation of the holding; b) adopting development strategies to global scales, and c) generalizing the results of process as a case study.