VTB Capital is reportedly selling the Lesnaya Plaza business centre in Moscow to 01 Properties owned by Russian banker Boris Mints for an undisclosed amount.

According to Russian press reports, VTB Capital spent $100 mln (EUR 72.6 mln) to buy the scheme from Capital Group a year ago and has since launched a renovation programme for the 49,000 m2 asset which has lifted the value of the property to $200-250 mln.

Built in 2005, Lesnaya Plaza is said to be jointly owned by VTB Capital and the State Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman. It remains unclear whether the Middle Eastern investor is also looking for a sale.

O1 Properties has been one of the most active investors in Russian real estate in the past months, having acquired Horus Capital's project portfolio for $850 mln. The company currently owns nine business centres with over 400,000 m2 which it is planning to launch in an Initial Public Offering in the autumn of 2012.