Andrey Yakunin

Entrepreneur, investor, and international property developer, Andrey Yankunin is recognised within the hospitality industry for his strategic work and ability to successfully perform on the intersection of heritage, redevelopment, and operational improvement.

With more than thirty years of experience spanning finance, hospitality, and real estate, Andrey has built a career identifying and unlocking value in complex or overlooked assets. His projects are characterised by detailed redevelopment strategies, respect for historic context, and the alignment of design and operations with leading global standards. He is known for approaching investment as both a creative and technical process, balancing financial discipline with architectural and cultural sensitivity.

Educated in Saint Petersburg, London, and New York, Andrey Yakunin began his professional journey back in late 90s as an intern in Sir Rocco Forte’s New Hotel Group, gaining first-hand insight into the operations and service culture of luxury hospitality. Later his early professional experience included the transformation of the post-Soviet Pribaltiyskaya hotel in Saint Petersburg into a modern upscale complex. This large-scale redevelopment, which involved repositioning an underperforming Soviet-era property into a viable contemporary asset, marked Andrey’s transition from finance into hospitality real estate operations. The eventual sale of the hotel provided the seed capital for his next phase as an investor.

In 2006, Andrey co-founded VIYM in London, a private equity and real estate investment firm focused on undervalued hospitality and consumer assets. The firm’s investment model prioritised control-oriented redevelopment: working with underperforming properties, restructuring their operations, introducing global hospitality brands, and often helping them to enter the new markets. Among its landmark achievements was the decade-long rescue and conversion of the derelict Lion Palace in Saint Petersburg into Russia’s first Four Seasons hotel, a project that required the coordination of heritage conservation, financing, and international operator alignment. Another defining investment was Antognolla Resort and Residences in Umbria, Italy, an extensive redevelopment of a medieval estate into a resort and branded residential community operated by Six Senses and designed around environmental stewardship and local economic development. The Antognolla project was later sold to Mohamed Alabbar.

Andrey’s investment philosophy centres on long-term value creation through structural and operational improvement. Together with his professional team they typically acquire distressed or mismanaged assets to then focus on
re-planning layouts to reflect contemporary use, restoring or preserving key architectural features, and introducing internationally recognised hospitality brands. Once stabilised, assets are institutionalised through robust management systems before being exited at maturity. This disciplined cycle—acquire, redesign, re-flag, institutionalise, and exit—has been executed across multiple European jurisdictions and through different economic conditions.

Academically, Andrey Yakunin holds a diploma in econometrics and a PhD in finance and credit from Saint Petersburg State University, where he also taught economics as an associate professor. He later earned an Executive MBA Global jointly delivered by London Business School and Columbia Business School, complementing his practical experience with advanced study in finance, management, and international markets.

Beyond his professional career, Andrey is an avid sailor with a particular interest in Arctic exploration. His participation in several Arctic expeditions has influenced his environmental outlook and commitment to sustainability within development projects. He actively supports a number of science and cultural charities, pledging both time and resources to initiatives focused on research, exploration, education, and heritage preservation.

Andrey Yakunin divides his time between the UK and Italy, where he resides with his wife. His current focus continues to lie in the redevelopment of historically significant properties and the integration of sustainable, place-sensitive practices into hospitality and mixed-use investment projects.