THE LARGEST NETWORK OF AMUSEMENT PARKS "COSMIC" IS ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY

On March 23, 2023, the tax authorities applied to the Moscow arbitration court with a bankruptcy application of JSC "Kosmic" (case no. A40-60752/2023). A week later, the claim of the inspection of the Federal Tax Service No. 31 was accepted by the court for consideration. According to experts, the claims of the tax authorities may indicate the real difficulties experienced by the oldest network of entertainment centers in Russia.

At the end of March 2022, the Interteiment company has already filed for bankruptcy of Kosmic with the court (case no. A40-63367). However, the moratorium imposed by the Government of the Russian Federation prevented the consideration of the case in court. In early April 2022, the claim was returned to the applicant. A year later, information appeared about the firm's intention to re-initiate the insolvency process.

The Kosmic network is one of the oldest in Russia. It was founded back in 1998. According to data for 2019, it was in the first place in relation to other entertainment complexes for children and adults presented in shopping centers of the Russian capital. Who is the real owner of the network is not known for sure. As Kommersant notes, the founder of the network is a company from the British Virgin Islands.

It is noted that the company's revenue has been declining annually lately. In 2018, it amounted to 1.2 billion rubles, and by 2021 it had decreased to 275 million rubles. This has a negative impact on the profitability of entertainment centers. In 2021, the level of profitability decreased by 34.3%. At the same time, many network facilities in the capital and regions were closed.

In Moscow, the centers located in Brand City and Mega Belaya Dacha have stopped working. Entertainment centers in Surgut, Yaroslavl (Aura shopping center) have closed their doors to visitors and Kostroma (Collage shopping center). Considering that previously the Kosmic network included 17 facilities, we can talk about the termination of more than 40% of the centers.

Experts note that the cause of the possible financial problems of Kosmic could be a pandemic and its consequences. In 2020-2021, the authorities imposed restrictions on visiting establishments, which caused a catastrophic reduction in revenue during the period of maximum traffic.

Behavioral factors have also changed among the visitors of entertainment centers themselves. The popularity of bowling has been declining in recent years. The concept of a network that emphasized such entertainment is outdated. Investments are required, without which the network may not be able to cope with the accumulated problems.

Photo: Freepik