FinPlusBiz has developed a structured financing program for business opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe in the range of USD 500,000 to USD 10 million that provides a means for wealthy individuals and smaller institutions to participate. This investment structure is a “syndication” of a group of wealthy individual investors and small institutions into a Cyprus company structured around a specific business opportunity. This structured financing was developed with the assistance of a leading professional services firm in Cyprus.
With this structured financing, investors are offered units of investment, usually consisting of common and preferred shares, in a Cyprus company, which in turn will invest in a specified project, asset or business. The Cyprus structure gives investors the assurance of protection of law in a EU country that has low tax rates. The promoters of the project or business opportunity may be the current business owners or other person(s) who will be the principals or management of the operating business.
The offering of investment units is made through a Private Placement Memorandum that describes the terms of the investment and the opportunity.
Depending on the business and financing required, the total offering might range from USD $500,000 to USD 10 million and unit investment size could range from USD 10,000 to USD 500,000. The costs and fees of the offering are paid from the proceeds.
The units of investment are sold during a fixed selling period that normally extends for six months. During the offering period there may be interim closings that provide phased funding of the business opportunity or project. Upon closing, investment proceeds are made available to the Company in the form of equity and debt financing depending upon terms of a Shareholders’ Agreement.

FinPlusBiz offers a set of Investment documentations services for those seeking funding or sale of a business in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly for cross-border or international investors. These documents could consist of:

• Promotional brochures and posters,
• Logo and website design,
• Social media strategy and implementation,
• Investment offering documentation.

A concise, well-written Information Memorandum puts your investment program in the express lane. Time is money when a company is seeking an investment, sale of shares or assets, or divestment of a business. A good Information Memorandum puts forth a strong argument on behalf of the business  and helps potential investors speed up the review and decision making process. The purpose is to make the business and its environment transparent and understandable.
Modern financial and strategic investors are savvy and have access to enormous information resources, but the costs to analyze cross-border investments can be expensive and time consuming. Professional investors usually have clear investment criteria and experienced staff to examine opportunities. In many cases, a partner or principal reads a blind profile or a summary, and may meet representatives of a target business, but passes it to an analyst for in-house due diligence if the investment looks interesting. A well-drawn Information Memorandum clearly presents the opportunity from the first page, and then clarifies the important opportunity and risk elements to facilitate the analyst’s work.
An Information Memorandum is very different from a Business Plan, which describes a business’ operation in great detail and forecasts for future performance. Nor is it a Marketing Brochure. The Information Memorandum:
-> Describes the current mission, objectives and market position of the business;
-> Provides relevant market information and the company’s position in the market in terms of product, price and promotion;
-> Gives a brief history of the business, and its organizational structure, locations and employees;
-> Provides background information about the directors, management and key employees;
-> Outlines the legal and regulatory position including legal organization and registration, licenses and tax position, and any current legal or tax issues;
-> Summarizes risks that are specific to the business’ activities, market and region;
-> Details the proposed investment and planned use of proceeds from the investment.
The Information Memorandum should be well written and relatively brief (25- 30 pages) with a one-page summary. It may be supplemented with more detailed information about the business and its markets – the appendices are where a business plan and marketing materials as well as market reports, region reports, regional tax information and other materials that an analyst.

Russian Wine Country: Sleeping Beauty Awakens 2014

Russian Wine Country stretches along Russia’s northern Black Sea coast from the Gelendzhik coastal resort, about 250 kilometers north of Sochi, to the Taman Peninsula between the Black and Azov Seas. In the seventh century BC, Greek settlers produced some of the world’s first wines in this area.
In the late 19th century, wineries were built along the coast to meet the demand from the aristocracy that had acquired a taste for French Champagne.
The 1917 Revolution brought socialization and industrialization to the wine industry, and by 1980 the Soviet Union was the world’s fourth largest producer behind Italy, France, and Spain. These wines were mostly sparkling or sweet and fortified.
The end of the Soviet era brought huge challenges and change to the industry, but beginning in 2003 modern winemaking pioneers began to make fine wines and restore the region’s legacy. Though still sleepy, this reincarnated youthful beauty is waking up.

Borden Guide Series

Borden’s Best Restaurants North America 2012 – Top 100 Cities

Borden’s Best Restaurants Europe 2010 – Top 100 Cities

Borden Guide World’s Best Restaurants 2008 – Top 100 Cities

Website List

Charles authored 211 artiicles for Moscow’s Passport Magazine including:

Restaurant reviews – 83
Wine articles – 68
Fred – 60

From 2001 to 2011, Charles was also editor and writer for several monthly English language magazines in Moscow.  For those publications he authored hundreds of articles on Russian restaurants, food and wine, culture and history. He also authored several books including Russian Wine Country: Sleeping Beauty Awakens, which was commissioned for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The magazines included:

Passport Magazine (2006 to 2011), Restaurant and Wine Editor: for this popular monthly Moscow magazine he wrote more than 200 food and wine reviews as well as articles on Moscow culture and history.
Aeroflot (2005-2006), Managing Editor: for the English edition of the airline’s in-flight magazine.
Russians: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (2003-2004), Managing Editor: for this glossy magazine about Russian life and culture.
Russian Fine Art (2002-2003), Managing Editor: for the English edition of the well-known Russian language fine art magazine Russkoye Iskusstvo.