Yevgeny Chichvarkin's Wine Shop in London Hedonism Wines for the first time since its opening went on profit. This is stated in the report by the project management company Hedonism Drinks Ltd, published in late June 2017 (available to RBC).

Chichvarkin himself declined to comment.

The profit of Hedonism Drinks Ltd for the fiscal year 2015/16, which ended on July 31, 2016, was £ 352 thousand. A year earlier, the loss was £ 810 thousand. After the first year of operation, which ended on July 31, 2013, the net loss was even more significant And amounted to £ 2.3 million. For the fiscal year 2013/14, the loss decreased by 17%, to £ 1.9 million.

The company's turnover for 2015-2016 has grown from £ 11.5 million to £ 15.1 million. The main part of the revenue comes from the UK - about 71%, 3% - to Europe.

Hedonism Wines was opened in the fall of 2012 in the district of Mayfair. Now, according to the company's website, there are 5,500 bottles of wine and 3,000 bottles of other alcoholic beverages in the store's collection. In a recent interview, which was published by journalist Yuri Dud on his YouTube channel, Chichvarkin recounted that the winery makes a profit. Specific figures, he did not name, but noted that he would not "engage in what does not bring money."

Wine business in London Chichvarkin began to deal with after moving from Russia. The co-founder of Euroset, one of the largest retail chains selling mobile phones and accessories, sold the company to AN & N investment group Alexander Mamut in 2008. The latter, in its turn, resold in a short time 49.9% of Euroset to VimpelCom (Beeline brand) for $ 226 million. A few months before the deal between Chichvarkin and Mamut structures, a case was brought against several employees of Euroset On charges of extortion and kidnapping in 2003 of the former forwarder of the company Andrei Vlaskin. Then, law enforcement officers searched the central office of Euroset. As Chichvarkin told Dudu, "Euroset" tried to "squeeze out" the siloviki. But the owners managed to agree on the sale. "They did not pay as much money as they did, but they were bought by those people who did not participate in the squeeze-out," Chichvarkin said.

In November 2008, Chichvarkin resigned as chairman of the board of directors of Euroset and left for the UK. The investigation sought his extradition in order to attract him as a defendant in the extortion case, he was declared a federal wanted list. The criminal case against Chichvarkin was terminated only in 2011, his lawyer said.

In 2012, it became known that Chichvarkin became a co-investor of Hedonism Wines. The case "was invested with an eight-figure sum," said Chichkvarkin in an interview with Forbes. "It is more reliable to invest in wine than in bricks or telecom. I have no doubt that everything I buy, I will sell, and if that - I will sit on an island called Great Britain and drink it with pleasure, "Chichvarkin said.