Russian Development Institute VEB.RF Purchases a Stake in Strelka KB

The Russian development institute VEB.RF has acquired a stake in Strelka KB, the country’s leading urban consulting company.

The partnership has been welcomed by Strelka KB, with CEO Denis Leontiev calling it an opportunity to “achieve significant changes across the country.” He went on to state that the business arrangement will lead to fast, positive outcomes for urban environments.

“Now cities more than ever need new sustainable approaches to development, the creation of new life scenarios. And here the partnership with VEB.RF will systematically help cities cope with new challenges—get quick victories and long-term solutions, and achieve sustainable development,” Leontiev said.

That positivity was echoed by a representative from VEB.RF, who said the corporation considers the deal to be a long-term investment. The spokesperson stressed the company’s commitment to the urban economy, calling it one of its “priority areas” as an institution of development.

Founded in 2013 by Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design and based in Moscow, Strelka KB is known as the flagship of the urban consulting market in Russia. The firm offers strategic consulting, urban planning, and project management services that take all aspects of the city into account. In its seven years of operation, it has implemented 260 projects in 360 cities.

Strelka KB’s list of accolades includes authoring key projects including the Standard for the Integrated Development of Territories, the All-Russian Urban Environment Quality Index, and the Comprehensive Program for Improving the Environment of Single-Industry Towns. It also achieved great success with its My Street program, which breathed new life into the Russian capital’s streets and public spaces.

It has won more than 15 international awards, including the Urban Land Institute Awards 2019, ISOCARP Awards 2018, Qatar Sustainability Awards 2018, and LILA Awards 2018.

Meanwhile, the company’s new partner VEB.RF was founded as a bank in 1922 and has operated as a development institute since 2007. It is one of the largest investment companies in Russia, working alongside commercial banks to finance more than 300 projects and counting.