Image: Oliver Berg (dpa)
The next chapter in the insolvency series surrounding Signa and investor Rene Benko has opened. Galeria boss Olivier van den Bossche said: “Galeria’s operational success is burdened by the framework conditions of the old ownership structure. We expressly see today as a liberation.” The statement continues: “The Signa Group’s bankruptcies are causing massive damage to Galeria, hindering ongoing business and severely restricting future development opportunities through high rents and expensive services.”
After the previous bankruptcy, the department store group had to close around 40 branches. The last 18 of them will close later this month. Galeria currently operates 92 department stores and claims to employ more than 15,000 people.
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This is the third bankruptcy for GKK in less than four years. This was preceded by the difficulties of the parent company Signa. In the past few weeks, several companies from the trading and real estate group of the Tyrolean entrepreneur René Benko have filed for bankruptcy – including Signa Retail Selection AG, to which GKK belongs. At the end of November it announced that it would wind up its business in an orderly manner, which would mean selling GKK.
Germany’s last large department store group only had to seek rescue in protective shield proceedings at the end of 2022. In March 2023, the creditors’ meeting approved the insolvency plan. Signa had promised 200 million euros for the renovation, which should flow in several tranches until 2025, the first 50 million reportedly in February.
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