Vertex United

Vertex United is a Ukrainian business group associated with Borys Kaufman and Oleksandr Hranovskyi. Its publicly described activities span hospitality, media and finance, with the group’s most identifiable assets concentrated in Ukraine. Rather than operating as a single consumer product brand, Vertex United functions as an investment and operating platform whose businesses are organized around separate assets and ventures. Hospitality has been one of the group’s principal areas. Through Vertex Hotel Group, it has managed or been associated with several prominent hotels, including the Bristol and Londonska hotels in Odesa and the President Hotel in Kyiv. The group also became connected with the Passage hotel and commercial complex in Odesa. In 2003, Passage CJSC was established with Ukrbudservice LLC and Clear Water Bay Hotels as shareholders. The arrangement involved the transfer of the historic complex into the company’s capital structure, with the city retaining a minority interest and the private investors undertaking a reconstruction commitment. Reconstruction did not begin within the initially envisaged period, with the financial crisis cited as an explanation. In 2013, the Odesa City Council voted to sell a further 24.6% stake held by the city to private businessmen. Vertex United expanded its media presence in June 2013 by acquiring the Focus media project from UMH group. The transaction covered the Focus magazine, the Focus: Beautiful Country publication and the focus.ua website. This move placed a recognizable Ukrainian news and magazine franchise within the group’s broader portfolio. The reference material also links the group’s principals to the Odesa RIAK television channel, although reports cited in the source material said that the channel was later sold to former Odesa mayor Oleksiy Kostusev. The timing and details of that reported transaction are not fully documented in the available material. Sport became another visible part of the group’s activities when Vertex United became the owner of Odesa football club Chornomorets from 1 January 2022. A company representative, Volodymyr Heninson, appeared at a January 2022 press conference introducing Roman Hryhorchuk as the club’s new head coach. The acquisition gave Vertex United a direct role in the management and public profile of a major Odesa sporting institution. The available sources do not establish a single founding date, formal corporate headquarters, public listing, ticker symbol or official website. They also provide limited information about the group’s finance-related assets and current operating structure. Accordingly, Vertex United is best characterized as a privately controlled Ukrainian business group with a diversified portfolio, rather than as a conventional packaged-goods or standalone service brand. Its public identity is closely tied to hospitality properties, the Focus media business, and ownership of Chornomorets Odesa.

Vertex United is described as a Ukrainian business group owned by Borys Kaufman and Oleksandr Hranovskyi. The available account does not identify a formal founding year, but it documents the group and its principals through a series of investments and operating relationships in hospitality, media and sport. The group’s hotel interests include the Bristol and Londonska hotels in Odesa and the President Hotel in Kyiv, managed through Vertex Hotel Group. Its involvement with Odesa’s Passage complex dates to 2003, when Passage CJSC was created. Ukrbudservice LLC and Clear Water Bay Hotels, both associated with Kaufman and Hranovskyi, were shareholders. The structure gave the city a 35% interest connected with the transfer of the Passage building into the company’s statutory capital. In return for the remaining 65%, the private investors were expected to spend $11 million over three years on reconstruction. The reconstruction did not start by 2013; the investors attributed the delay to the financial crisis. In July 2013, the Odesa City Council approved the sale of another 24.6% municipal shareholding in the complex. Vertex United entered a more prominent media phase in June 2013, when it acquired the Focus project from UMH group. The project included the Focus magazine, Focus: Beautiful Country and the focus.ua website. The transaction broadened the group beyond physical assets and hotel operations into publishing and online media. The source material also associates the group’s owners with Odesa RIAK television, while reporting that the channel was later sold to former Odesa mayor Oleksiy Kostusev. The available reference does not provide enough detail to establish the exact date or terms of that reported sale. The group later became active in professional football. From 1 January 2022, Vertex United owned Chornomorets Odesa. On 9 January, company representative Volodymyr Heninson appeared at a club press conference connected with the appointment of Roman Hryhorchuk as head coach. This ownership role added a high-profile sports asset to the group’s Odesa-centered portfolio. The sources characterize Vertex United as having finance-related interests as well, but they do not identify a complete list of financial companies, products or current assets. They likewise do not establish a detailed corporate hierarchy, legal domicile, public listing or official web address. The group’s documented history is therefore best understood through its individual businesses and transactions: hotel management and ownership, the Passage redevelopment structure, the Focus media acquisition and ownership of Chornomorets Odesa.

• 2022

  Chornomorets Odesa ownership begins

  [1]Vertex Uniteden.wikipedia.org

  Vertex United became owner of Chornomorets Odesa on 1 January.

• 2013

  Focus media project acquired

  [1]Vertex Uniteden.wikipedia.org

  Vertex United acquired Focus magazine, Focus: Beautiful Country and focus.ua from UMH group.

• 2013

  Additional Passage stake offered for sale

  [1]Vertex Uniteden.wikipedia.org

  The Odesa City Council approved the sale of a further 24.6% municipal interest in the Passage complex.

• 2003

  Passage CJSC is established

  [1]Vertex Uniteden.wikipedia.org

  Passage CJSC was established in connection with the private investors’ control of the Passage hotel and commercial complex in Odesa.

A privately controlled Ukrainian investment and operating group diversified across hospitality, media, finance and sports.

• Hospitality

  Vertex Hotel Group

  The group’s hotel-management platform, associated with the Bristol and Londonska hotels in Odesa and the President Hotel in Kyiv. The portfolio represents Vertex United’s principal documented hospitality activity and includes properties serving business, leisure and city-center visitors.

• Media

  Focus

  A Ukrainian media project acquired from UMH group in 2013. The documented assets included Focus magazine, the Focus: Beautiful Country publication and the focus.ua website, combining print publishing with an online media presence.

• Hospitality and real estate

  Passage Hotel and Commercial Complex

  A historic Odesa complex connected with Vertex United’s principals through Passage CJSC. The investment structure contemplated a substantial reconstruction program, although the planned works had not begun by 2013 according to the cited account.

• Professional football club · 2022

  Chornomorets Odesa

  An Odesa football club owned by Vertex United from 1 January 2022. The ownership change was publicly associated with the appointment of Roman Hryhorchuk as head coach, with company representative Volodymyr Heninson participating in the related press conference.

• 2022

  Acquisition of Chornomorets OdesaM&A

  Background

  The group added a major Odesa sports institution to its portfolio of local businesses and assets.

  Action taken

  Vertex United became the owner of Chornomorets Odesa from 1 January 2022.

  Aftermath

  A January 2022 press conference connected the new ownership with the presentation of Roman Hryhorchuk as head coach.

  Source

• 2013

  Acquisition of the Focus media projectM&A

  Background

  Vertex United expanded its portfolio from hospitality and other investments into a recognizable Ukrainian publishing and digital-media property.

  Action taken

  The group acquired Focus magazine, Focus: Beautiful Country and focus.ua from UMH group.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition gave Vertex United a documented presence in print and online media. The available source does not quantify the transaction or describe later ownership changes in detail.

  Source

1. 1Vertex Uniteden.wikipedia.org