Finance

Gilauri Sells Part of His Stake in GCAP for the First Time

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Tbilisi (GBC) – In line with the plan announced at the beginning of August, under which Georgia Capital PLC’s (GCAP) CEO Irakli Gilauri intended to sell 20% of his shares, he sold part of the shares held through direct ownership, reducing his stake from 5.6% to 4.95%.

This marks his first share sale since the company was established in May 2018.

As a result of the transaction, Gilauri now directly owns 1,808,414 ordinary shares, compared to 2,131,709 shares prior to the sale.

According to Neil Janin, Chairman of GCAP’s Remuneration Committee, over time, Irakli Gilauri has accumulated a significant ownership in Georgia Capital despite not receiving any cash compensation during the past seven years. Therefore, the Remuneration Committee encouraged Gilauri to sell part of his shares in Georgia Capital.
Gilauri confirmed that, over time, he plans to sell up to 625,000 Georgia Capital shares.

At the beginning of August, Gilauri held a total of 3,126,503 shares, of which 2,131,709 shares were directly owned, while 994,794 shares had not yet been transferred (held as zero-cost options) and will be granted over the coming years in line with the company’s remuneration policy.

Gilauri accumulated these shares in Georgia Capital and its predecessor, Bank of Georgia, during his 20-year career through various means: cash purchases (213,523 shares), deferred salary shares (zero-cost options), and equity bonuses – initially at Bank of Georgia, and later at Georgia Capital.

Following the planned share sale and the allocation of 2025 salary shares, Gilauri is expected to hold around 2.7 million shares.

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Mortgage Rates Are Rising

Foreign-currency mortgages have also become more expensive. If last year hedged borrowers could access loans for property purchase or renovation at 7–7.4%, as of August the average rate for mortgages with maturities of up to 10 years stands at 8.2%. For loans with a maturity of 10–15 years, the rate is slightly lower, at 7.95%. However, since autumn 2022, such loans are no longer issued as standard.As you know, mortgages in lari are available for terms longer than 10 years, while foreign-currency mortgages are limited to up to 10 years.Just 4–5 years ago, foreign-currency mortgages were approved at only 4–6%, up until spring 2022.

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The annual growth rate of loans has slowed down.

According to the statistics of the NBG, loans issued to resident legal entities amounted to 29.6 billion GEL, of which the equivalent of 18.8 billion GEL was issued in foreign currency. Out of this amount, nearly 13 billion GEL is in USD, and the equivalent of 6.1 billion GEL in euros.As of August 1, 2025, banks’ retail portfolio stood at 34.2 billion GEL (compared to 29.7 billion GEL on August 1, 2024).The overall loan larization ratio (share of GEL-denominated loans) was 57.6% (August 1, 2024 – 55.76%).

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Growth in Ruble Turnover

Of this amount, the equivalent of GEL 1.8 billion (over 46%) was in foreign currency, mainly in US dollars. A smaller share — 12% (equivalent to GEL 218 million) — was in euros. Withdrawals were also recorded in rubles, though only about 1% (GEL 18 million).The largest turnover in rubles, equivalent to GEL 29 million, was observed last October.According to NBG’s interactive statistics, as of August 1, 2025, the balance on current accounts of local individuals and legal entities in the banking sector stood at GEL 12 billion, including GEL 5 billion in foreign currency (August 1, 2024 – GEL 12.5 billion, including GEL 7.2 billion in foreign currency).

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According to NBG statistics, in July time deposits increased by GEL 553 million.Total deposits (excluding non-bank and government deposits) stood at GEL 57.085 billion, with a dollarization rate of 54% (compared to 53.2% on August 1, 2024, when deposits also totaled GEL 57.085 billion).As of August 1, 2025, the average annual market rate on time deposits in lari was 9.55%, while on foreign-currency deposits it was 2.59% (compared with 9.1% and 2.3%, respectively, a year earlier).Within foreign-currency deposits, the share of US dollars was 79.2%, up from 77.9% on August 1, 2024.

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Number of hotels rises 7%

In the reporting period majority of hotels and hotel-type enterprises operated in Tbilisi (22.5 percent) and Adjara A/R (20.5 percent). The chart №1 shows the distribution of the number of hotels by regions.In 2024, the most common organizational and legal form among economic entities engaged in hotel services was the “individual entrepreneur,” accounting for 62.9% of all hotels and hotel-type establishments in operation that year.Hotels and hotel-type establishments were predominantly privately owned, with 99.8% in private ownership and 0.2% in state ownership.The total area of hotels and hotel-type establishments operating in Georgia in 2024 amounted to 3,610.5 thousand square meters, 2.4% more than in 2023. The residential area of rooms specifically reached 1,616.5 thousand square meters, up 4.1% compared to the previous year.According to GeoStat, the total number of beds in hotels and hotel-type establishments in 2024 was 113.5 thousand, 5.3% higher than in 2023. The total number of rooms increased by 2.1% compared to the previous year, reaching 51.2 thousand.In 2024, Georgian hotels and hotel-type establishments served 5.8 million guests, a 16.5% increase compared to the previous year. Foreign visitors accounted for 63.5% of all guests, with the majority being citizens of Israel (549.9 thousand, or 14.9% of total guests), representing a 57.4% increase over 2023. Citizens of the European Union—mostly from Germany (30.6% of EU guests) and Poland (20.8%)—made up 8.2% of all foreign guests.Most foreign guests visited Georgia for leisure and recreation (89.8%). Among these, the majority were citizens of Israel and the Russian Federation, accounting for 15.4% and 14.7%, respectively.In 2024, hotels and hotel-type establishments in Georgia employed 29,082 people, with women making up the majority (53.3%) of the workforce.

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Gilauri Sells Part of His Stake in GCAP for the First Time

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