The luxury department store Lamarr on Mariahilfer Straße in Vienna, planned by René Benko, is not even 40 percent completed. Not much is happening on the construction site at the moment; Benko’s former flagship project looks more like a ruin. But according to the curator, there is a lot of interest in the shell.
Clemens Richter, trustee of the bankrupt project company, said on Wednesday that the exploitation process was “in full swing”, but he could not provide a timetable or details about the bidders. The sector assumes that more than thirty bidders are interested in the project.
Planned opening in the spring of 2025 will not take place
Richter spoke after the audit and meeting of the bankrupt department store construction company Mariahilfer Straße 10-18 Immobilien GmbH. The project company, part of the Signa Group, owns the building on the busy shopping street, but had to file for bankruptcy in February due to the bankruptcy of Signa Prime. The multi-story department store, named after Vienna-born Hollywood diva and inventor Hedy Lamarr, was originally scheduled to open in spring 2025.
“Approach the largest possible group of bidders”
The aim is to “appeal to the largest possible group of bidders in a transparent sales process,” the Alpine Creditors Association (AKV) also reports based on information from the curator. According to AKV and the Kreditschutzverband 1870 (KSV1870), 340 million euros worth of claims have been registered in the bankruptcy proceedings so far, of which the administrator has recognized debts amounting to 174 million euros. However, creditor protectors assume that the number of claims submitted will increase.
The bankrupt company Lamarr is each 50 percent owned by Signa Prime Capital Invest GmbH – a subsidiary of the also bankrupt Signa Prime Selection – and Skyred Holding 9, based in Luxembourg, a subsidiary of the Thai Central Group, which also holds shares in other Signa luxury real estate is involved and operates department stores, restaurants and hotels.
More than 100 bankruptcies in Austria and Germany
Speaking of Benko’s network of companies, it wasn’t just the Signa conglomerate, which was largely insolvent, that was always difficult to understand. This also applies to the dozens of bankruptcies of individual Signa companies. In addition to the twelve bankruptcies with which the floundering real estate company is connected in Austria, there are more than 100 in Germany, including possible “provisional bankruptcies” under the law.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
