Image: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT
Only at the reporting meeting on December 19th “will an assessment be made as to how realistic the financial plan presented is and whether a restructuring plan can be fulfilled,” explained Stapf in a statement to the APA on Thursday.
On Wednesday evening, Stapf was appointed insolvency administrator of the umbrella company of the Signa network of companies around the Tyrolean real estate investor Rene Benko. With debts of 5 billion euros, it is the largest bankruptcy in Austrian economic history.
- more on the subject: 5 billion euros in liabilities: Signa insolvency is the largest bankruptcy in Austro’s economic history
“We immediately began reviewing the company’s economic situation,” explained Stapf, who, together with his law firm partner Michael Neuhauser, is overseeing the restructuring process under self-administration. Due to its dimensions and complexity, Signa Holding’s insolvency was different than usual restructuring procedures. “The detailed examination will take up the entire time until the first reporting meeting,” said Stapf, who does not want to give any further comments on the procedure until then.
Not the first major insolvency proceedings
This is not the first major insolvency proceedings for Stapf; he was the liquidator at Yline, at the Vienna Ringstrasse hotel “Le Meridien” and at the fashion chains mister*lady and Pimkie. He also handled the bankruptcy of gambling entrepreneur Peter Zanoni’s Montesino poker casino.
At Signa, the first reporting meeting and the first creditors’ meeting are scheduled for December 19th. The audit meeting is scheduled for January 29th and the renovation plan meeting is scheduled for February 12th. The registration deadline for creditors to whom Signa Holding owes money is January 15, 2024.
The real estate empire built by Benko has grown rapidly in the zero interest phase of the past few years and has primarily taken over commercial properties. Signa management admitted on Wednesday that investments in this area had not brought the expected success. The group includes numerous commercial properties in Germany and Austria as well as the German department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which has already gone through two insolvency proceedings. Signa is currently building the 245 meter high Elbtower in Hamburg. The project is currently at a standstill because Signa can no longer afford the monthly construction costs of a rumored 25 million euros. The same applies to several construction sites in Germany, such as the area at the Alte Akademie in Munich. It is unclear what will happen next in Vienna with the major Lamarr construction site at the former Leiner location on Mariahilfer Straße. The luxury department store was scheduled to open in 2025, so far only the reinforced concrete frame is standing.
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