According to the assessment of its insolvency administrator, the insolvent luxury real estate unit of the Signa Group "from the current perspective" continue to operate. The ongoing financing of Signa Prime Selection AG is secured according to the financial plan presented, said administrator Norbert Abel on Monday after a creditors’ meeting in Vienna.
However, according to the creditor protection association KSV1870, a cash injection of between 300 million and 500 million euros is necessary in the short to medium term so that the project companies associated with Signa Prime remain solvent. That’s what they ran for "intensive negotiations".
Signa Prime is considered the flagship of the Signa real estate and trading group founded by the Austrian entrepreneur René Benko. Signa Prime’s portfolio includes the Berlin luxury department store KaDeWe, properties belonging to the department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK) and the Elbtower project in Hamburg. The restructuring of Signa Prime could be financed through the structured sale of the real estate portfolio, said Abel. He did not announce specific sales plans.
According to the credit protection association Creditreform, creditors have so far registered around 464 million euros in claims. "You want to prevent the breakup and increase the assets"said Creditreform spokesman Gerhard Weinhofer about the current situation.
Signa has fallen into crisis due to rising interest rates, construction costs and energy prices. The department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which belongs to the group, filed for insolvency last week.(dpa)