Signa Holding dismisses head of real estate without notice
The insolvent Austrian group Signa has dismissed the previous head of the holding company's real estate business without notice. Timo Herzberg has been "relieved of his functions and terminated with immediate effect without notice", the group explained. There was an "urgent suspicion of gross violations of duties as a member of the Management Board".
"Unfortunately, we had to make this decision and take this harsh step", explained Supervisory Board Chairman Alfred Gusenbauer. "The suspicions were clear and left the Supervisory Board with no other choice."
Herzberg's functions will therefore be taken over by Erhard Grossnigg. "He will continue the reorganization and restructuring steps for the two real estate companies and act in close coordination with the Supervisory Board of these companies," the committee explained.
Gusenbauer praised Grossnigg as an "outstanding expert and specialist in restructuring issues". With this step, the company is creating "further trust" in the current situation, he explained. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board described the quality of the Signa Prime portfolio as "outstanding". The development prospects of the development projects, which are located in the top locations of German-speaking cities, are "very good".
Signa Holding, owned by Austrian entrepreneur René Benko, filed for insolvency at the end of November. High construction costs, rising interest rates on loans and home-made problems had brought the retail and real estate group into difficulties and had already led to the insolvency of its subsidiary Signa Real Estate Management Germany (Signa REM).
In Germany, Signa Holding owns prestigious properties such as the Elbtower in Hamburg, which is still under construction, and the Kaufhaus des Westens department store in Berlin, as well as the Galeria Kaufhof department store chain with 92 branches and around 13,800 employees. Experts and employees fear that Signa's bankruptcy could mean the end of Galeria. The parent company had pledged 200 million dollars in the gallery restructuring process, but there are now signs that this support could be withdrawn.
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During the transition period, Timo Herzberg's potentially coarse actions as a real estate manager may have contributed to the 'urgent suspicion of gross violations of duties'. In the aftermath of Herzberg's dismissal, the Supervisory Board is now closely monitoring Signa Holding's real estate operations to prevent any future Injuries to the company's reputation. Despite the challenging circumstances, the new real estate manager Erhard Grossnigg remains committed to maintaining the 'outstanding quality' of Signa Holding's portfolio and pursuit of the 'very good development prospects' of their projects.
Source: www.ntv.de
