At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, two of the company's largest facilities (Nikolsky shopping mall and Fabrika shopping mall) were significantly damaged by shelling. Reconstruction of Nikolsky REC was launched in May 2022. The mall was opened gradually during June-December 2022. Since the beginning of 2023, almost all areas of the REC were reconstructed. The full reconstruction of the mall was completed in December 2023. Approximately $18 million was spent to rebuild the mall. Now all tenants except for Inditex, H&M and McDonald's operate in the mall.
The Fabrika shopping mall in Kherson sustained significant damage during the first week of the full-scale invasion. After the liberation of the city, additional damage was sustained as a result of shelling during 2023. The amount of restoration is estimated at no less than $20 million. The mall now remains closed. The total amount of losses incurred by the company for all projects as a result of Russian aggression could be more than $350 million. This includes the needs for the restoration of Fabrika shopping mall, lost profit on all the company's projects, loss of capitalization of the company's projects, halting construction and postponing the opening of new projects, etc.
Budhouse shopping centers were visited by 22 million people in 2023, which is 23.4% less than in 2021. The significant drop in attendance compared to 2021 is primarily due to the shutdown of Fabrika shopping center in February 2022 and damage to Nikolsky shopping center. Compared to 2022 the attendance increased by 48%. If we compare only operating shopping malls, the attendance increased by 3% on average compared to 2021. Also an important factor directly affecting the attendance is the percentage of alarms during the working hours of the mall, for 2023 it ranged from 5% to 17% depending on the region, and in November, in Kharkiv it reached 21.39% of the working hours of the mall.
On 1000 square meters of leasable area there are thus on average 565 visitors.
Visitors become more target-oriented. This is indicated by a number of indicators - the number of visited stores, duration of visit, the share of casual visitors to the shopping center, visitor-buyer conversion. So conversion (the share of buyers among visitors) increased by 5%, and the duration of visit on the contrary decreased by 11%. Also, the number of outlets visited by the client decreased significantly (by 30%), while the purpose of the visit to the shopping center remained the same. The share of visitors who planned a visit increased by 10%.
*Editor's note: in January 2024 the anxiety rate in Kharkiv reached 27.17%.
The total turnover of the company's shopping centers amounted to UAH 9.95 bln in 2023. Compared to 2021, the turnover of shopping centers in UAH equivalent fell by 4%. In the previous pre-war years, every year the turnover grew by 10-20%. In currency, the turnover of the company's shopping centers decreased by 28%. The main reason is the closure of Fabrika shopping center and damage to Nikolsky shopping center. The undamaged shopping centers have already reached the 2021 level in currency, while LUBAVA shopping center exceeded it by 6%. Compared to 2022, the total turnover of all shopping centers increased in proportion to attendance - by 47%. Average rental rates decreased in 2023 compared to 2021 by 6%.
In 2022/23 it was possible to maintain a minimum vacancy of 0.8%. The same vacancy rate was in 2021. In addition, another 15.5 thousand m2 in RECs Forum Lviv, LUBAVA and Nikolsky (stores of Inditex group and H&M) remain idle.
Tenant rotation was significantly higher than in 2021. In 2023, 44 new lease agreements were signed in existing RCs. But the total area of these new tenants is rather small - 3000m2 (19 new agreements 3500m2 in 2021). The most significant new tenants were Citrus and Smile Park in Forum Lviv, Collin's in Nikolsky, Levis, Kiko Milano, MWM, Ukrzoloto in LUBAVA.
In 2023, Budhouse Group shopping centers traditionally paid much attention to online promotion. The total number of contacts with users on various online resources amounted to more than 45 million times (coverage of publications in social networks, website traffic).
The total number of followers in social networks amounted to 693 thousand. The increase compared to 2021 amounted to 7%. At the same time, the number of subscribers of Fabrika shopping mall, despite the damage, has not actually changed for 2 years. Instagram accounts of REC Fabrika and REC Forum Lviv, as well as in 2021, remain on the first and second place in Ukraine in the rating of Ukrainian shopping centers.
Visitors of RECs are increasingly immersed in social networks. The percentage of those registered in YouTube, Telegram and Tik-Tok has significantly increased. Tik-Tok demonstrates the highest growth rate among the visitors of shopping centers. The share of people registered in this network has doubled. This is probably also due to changes in the age structure of visitors. Now 30-40% of visitors have an account in Tik-Tok. Before the war, this share was about 20%.
In 2023, 400 different events will take place in the BHG shopping center. This is 10% more than in 2021. In 2022 the number of events was 3 times less.
The most significant among them are: Drawings of shopping certificates 50 000 - 150 0000 UAH, Cosplay Fest, Shopping Days, Halloween, Black Friday, Collaborations with UNITED24, Beauty and Talent Contests, Wheel of Fortune and Kindness, Festival "Together for the Future", Christmas holidays and others.
At the beginning of 2023 LINDEN LUXURY RESIDENSES, which is the most expensive house in Kiev, was commissioned. Now the process of handing over the residences to the apartment owners is underway.
Construction works on the Khortitsa mall in Zaporizhzhya and Yessa mall in Odessa, which started in 2021, have been suspended for the duration of hostilities. Work on the restoration of Fabrika shopping mall is also planned to start after the shelling of Kherson ceases.
Cherkasy shopping and entertainment center LUBAVA celebrated its 13th anniversary, confirming its status as one of the city's key commercial and social spaces. The celebration was traditionally accompanied by special offers for visitors, gift draws, and large-scale activities with the participation of the complex's partners.
On March 28, 2026, Fabrika Shopping Mall in Kherson — one of the largest shopping and entertainment centers in southern Ukraine, developed by Budhouse Group — marked its 14th anniversary.
Dmytro Bushmakin, Marketing Director of the Ukrainian development company Budhouse Group, has joined the jury team of the prestigious European SOLAL Marketing Awards 2026.
