Getir says investor has ‘no direct or indirect relationship’ with sanctioned Russian oligarch
Speedy grocery delivery app Getir has shrugged off speculation that government sanctioning of a Russian oligarch linked to investment in the firm will impact its funding.
Vladimir Potanin was hit by sanctions last week, including an asset freeze preventing any UK firm from dealing with any funds he owns.
However, Getir was keen to quash worries that its funding would be impacted, trade title The Grocer reported on Monday.
Moscow-based Winter Capital was among several backers of the app to help it raise $550m in a Series D investment last year.
Winter Capital is partially backed by Potanin’s firm Interros.
Getir said Winter Capital presently had a 0.45 per cent minority stake in the platform.
“Winter Capital officers have once again confirmed that it currently has no direct or indirect relationship to Vladimir Potanin,” a Getir spokesperson added.
They continued: “Based on the legal advice we have received from our external counsel, Winter Capital is not subject to the sanctions announced by the UK government. Therefore, at this stage, by law Getir cannot take any action.”
“Getir always operates respectful to the laws and regulations of the country in which it operates. As such, in the future, we will also continue to take the measures necessary to ensure Getir’s compliance,” the statement concluded.
According to a report in The Grocer earlier this year, Winter Capitals have previously stated Winter Interros is not a limited partner and therefore had “no economic ownership nor ability to exercise any type of management rights”.
Interros itself claims it is not a shareholder in Winter Capital while it does act as its “major investor”.
Getir was among one of a handful of rapid delivery startups to cut jobs last month, in a further blow for the category.
Turkey-based Getir told workers it intended to slash its global headcount by 14 per cent, representing some 840 job losses.
“With a heavy heart, we today shared with our team the saddening and difficult decision to reduce the size of our global organization,” Getir said.
The start-up, one of the largest players in the rapidly growing sector, said it would also cut back on marketing spending, as well as promotions and expansion.