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Signa – the Austrian real estate group that declared insolvency a few months ago – has sold three properties in Italy to the Schoeller group, two in Bolzano – the Walther Park and the Viva Virgolo company, which should deal with the redevelopment of the Virgolo, precisely the hill of Bolzano – and the famous Bauer hotel in Venice. The sale – the details of which were not disclosed – is subject to approval from banks and regulators and is expected to close in the coming months, Signa said in a statement.
Signa had purchased the Bauer, a luxury hotel overlooking the Grand Canal, in 2020 and had obtained a 135 million euro loan from Raiffeisen to finance its renovation. But the works were interrupted at the end of last year due to the Signa crash, extending the reopening time. The same Schoeller group had lent Signa 200 million euros a few months before the collapse.
Signa – the real estate group founded by Rene Benko – is, so far, the biggest victim of the European real estate crisis, with creditors who have submitted requests for billions of euros. The group’s holding company, at the center of a network of hundreds of companies, declared insolvency, as did two of its most important units, Prime and Signa Development.
«The boards of directors of Signa Prime and the Schoeller Group signed the transfer contracts after the negotiations between Vienna, Munich and Bolzano were successful» Signa Prime said in a statement, referring to their offices and the capital of the autonomous province where two other projects included in the “package” are located.
Signa Prime includes some of Signa’s most popular properties. Last month he was in talks with Schoeller about the sale of other assets including the Park Hyatt Hotel and the so-called “Golden Quarter” in central Vienna, but the talks did not conclude. The Schoeller Group operates in sectors ranging from packaging to real estate and includes a family office, managed by Martin and Christoph Schoeller and their families.
In recent months, activities in Italy seemed to have been spared from the ongoing restructuring process. Walther Park is a project in Bolzano which involves the construction of a shopping centre, a luxury hotel, apartments and offices with an expected opening in spring 2025. While Viva Virgolo is the company active in the development of the hill overlooking the capital of the autonomous province.