The German real estate subsidiary of the Austrian conglomerate Signa Group files for bankruptcy.
Signa Real Estate Management Germany, a subsidiary of Signa Prime Selection, filed for insolvency at the Charlottenburg district court on Friday, reports Spiegel, citing people familiar with the matter. In addition, the news magazine should have received the bankruptcy filing. Signa Prime Selection’s portfolio includes, among others, the Elbtower high-rise project in Hamburg and the KaDeWe luxury department store in Berlin.
According to the application, Signa is no longer able to provide its subsidiaries with sufficient financial resources. The troubled real estate and retail group has been in the headlines for months. Signa first made a name for itself with the second insolvency of the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which is part of the group, before speculation about construction stops on real estate projects such as the Elbtower and the Carsch-Haus, the KaDeWe Group’s new luxury department store, caused waves.
At the beginning of the month it was announced that René Benko would retire as chairman of the advisory board of Signa Holding. Benko’s co-owners had asked the Austrian billionaire to give up power over the company network after problems in various divisions and various projects became increasingly frequent.
Benko’s voting rights were transferred to the restructuring expert Arndt Geiwitz, who was already responsible for Galeria as insolvency administrator. He then took over the restructuring of the real estate and trading holding company.