Senate administration: Signa development is "serious"

Real estate empire - Senate administration: Signa development is "serious"

The Berlin Senate Department for Economics is concerned about the latest developments at billionaire René Benko's real estate and retail empire. "The economic administration considers the situation to be serious and volatile," the authority said on Thursday in response to a request from the German Press Agency. It is in contact with the Berlin locations, the management of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK) and Signa, the trade association and other affected cities and federal states. The most important units of the Signa retail and real estate group around Benko are seeking insolvency proceedings. Signa Prime Selection AG applied for debtor-in-possession restructuring proceedings at the Vienna Commercial Court on Thursday, the company announced. Signa Prime owns commercial real estate in prime locations, including the Elbtower in Hamburg, the KaDeWe in Berlin and department store properties of the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof chain. Signa Prime builds and lets real estate. Other companies are responsible for the retail business of the department stores.

According to the Senate Administration, it is not yet possible to give a definitive answer as to the specific effects of the new insolvencies and the restructuring proceedings being pursued. In Berlin, the Signa Group only owns the properties in the two Galeria locations on Kurfürstendamm and Hermannplatz and, in the case of KaDeWe, together with a Thai investor. "The Senate attaches great importance to department stores in Berlin as anchor tenants in shopping streets and in their function in providing local amenities for people." The fact that, as a result of the last GKK insolvency proceedings in the spring of this year, all of Berlin's GKK department store locations have de facto remained open demonstrates "their fundamental attractiveness and future viability" for the Senate. This also applies to the internationally famous and economically strong KaDeWe. "The economic administration and the Senate are therefore fully committed to the goal of further developing the department store locations in Berlin and securing jobs. This is our top priority and we will also make this clear to any future investors and expect reliability and the assumption of responsibility at this point."

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1. The economic situation at Rene Benko's real estate and retail empire, including Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof and Signa, has been deemed "serious and volatile" by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics.
2. Signa Prime Selection AG, a significant unit of the Signa retail and real estate group, has initiated debtor-in-possession restructuring proceedings in Vienna.
3. Signa Prime has commercial real estate in prime locations, such as the Elbtower in Hamburg, the KaDeWe in Berlin, and department store properties of the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof chain.
4. The Berlin Senate Administration is in contact with various parties, including the management of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof and Signa, to understand the specific effects of the insolvencies and restructuring proceedings.
5. The Signa Group only owns properties in two Galeria locations in Berlin and shares ownership of KaDeWe with a Thai investor.
6. René Benko's empire includes a real estate empire in Germany, with his companies owning and building commercial properties and managing the retail business of department stores.
7. The Vienna Commercial Court is overseeing the restructuring proceedings initiated by Signa Prime Selection AG, a move that adds to the concerns of the Berlin Senate Department for Economics.
8. The Austrian city of Vienna, being home to Signa Prime and impacted by the company's restructuring proceedings, could also be affected by the developments in Benko's real estate empire.

Source: www.stern.de