Court confirms: Signa subsidiary insolvent
The Signa subsidiary Signa Real Estate Management Germany GmbH has filed for insolvency, according to official information. As revealed on Monday in an online publication on insolvency announcements, the Berlin lawyer Torsten Martini has been appointed insolvency administrator. Several media outlets had reported on the insolvency application filed with the Berlin-Charlottenburg district court since Friday.
Signa Real Estate Management Germany GmbH manages and develops real estate for the Signa Group and, according to the online publication on insolvency announcements, also acts as a property developer. According to a publication in the Federal Gazette, 139 people worked there in the 2021 financial year.
The Signa Group has been in crisis for several weeks. The founder of the group, René Benko, has now stepped down from the management. Signa is building the 245-meter-high Elbtower in Hamburg, for example. The group also owns the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which has already been through two insolvency proceedings. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the real estate sector has had to contend with increased construction and energy costs as well as higher interest rates - and the Signa Group has not been spared.
The consequences of the insolvency of Signa Real Estate Management Germany GmbH for other parts of the Signa Group initially remained unclear. Signa did not respond to several inquiries as to whether other parts of the Signa Group were also insolvent.
Despite managing and developing real estate for the Signa Group, Signa Real Estate Management Germany GmbH has filed for insolvency, leading to increased uncertainty within the retail trade sector. Moreover, the Signa Group, known for its ambitious building projects such as the Elbtower in Hamburg, may need to reassess its expansion plans in the face of rising construction and energy costs in the building industry.
Source: www.dpa.com
