From Schick’s point of view, the industry had no chance to react: “Of course, looking back, you can say that companies should have been more careful. But if we’re honest, no one anticipated this jump in interest rates so quickly.”
Also read: No more paternalism when choosing a job!
But that’s not all. The sometimes shady business models the project developers have relied on can be well illustrated by what is probably the most sensational bankruptcy: that of René Benko’s Signa Group. Although he doesn’t know the exact figures, Braun says Benko apparently took advantage of the fact that he owned both the buildings of the Karstadt and Kaufhof department store groups and the company itself. “The company presumably increased the rent for Karstadt in order to increase the value of the building in order to be able to take out additional loans.” The buildings were therefore deposited as security. An endless source of funding.