A luxury department store project under construction by the Signa Group in Vienna has filed for bankruptcy. The project company Mariahilfer Straße 10-18 Immobilien GmbH submitted the application to the Vienna Commercial Court on Friday, as the creditor protection association KSV1870 reported. The move was confirmed to the German Press Agency by informed circles.
The so-called Lamarr department store was scheduled to open in the second half of 2025. However, work on the building on Austria’s largest shopping mile is behind schedule because the construction site has been idle for weeks. Real estate and retail group Signa did not comment on the future of the project on Friday.
The Lamarr, which will also house a hotel, is part of the portfolio of the insolvent Signa Prime. This luxury real estate unit of the Signa Group also includes the Elbtower project in Hamburg and the Berlin luxury department store KaDeWe, which are also insolvent.
Signa founder René Benko could also face insolvency proceedings. According to the daily newspaper ‘Der Standard’ and information from the dpa, the Austrian financial procuratorate, which represents the state in legal matters, has applied for this to a court in Benko’s hometown of Innsbruck. It is not yet certain whether such proceedings will be opened. Signa did not respond to questions from the dpa. The Financial Procuratorate did not comment on the matter as such proceedings are not conducted publicly.
Signa had expanded significantly during the years of low interest rates. Against the background of rising interest rates, construction costs and energy prices, individual companies in the nested group have recently filed for bankruptcy in large numbers. (dpa)