The incomplete Tiago mall in Oradea, Romania, is to be auctioned next week for the fourth time, at a starting price of €17 mln - less than a third of the value of its debt, reports Romanian business publication Economia.net.
The troubled scheme, owned by property billionaire Gabriel Popoviciu, went bankrupt this summer for the second time.
Popoviciu acquired the mall in June 2010 through Shopping Center Holding, paying €30.5 mln for the mall after Northern Irish construction firm Mivan failed to complete the scheme's interiors, later going bankrupt. Mivan invested around €60 mln in the mall, which was one of several schemes it planned across the country.
Insolvency house Transilvania was unable to auction the property at its first attempt, with a starting price of €35.5 mln. Popoviciu stepped in when the price was lowered.
However, Popoviciu failed to inject a promised €20 mln to finalise the mall this summer, causing creditors to act once again. The largest creditor is a Polish fund, which took over a portfolio of bad loans from UniCredit two years ago.
The value of the debt claims currently exceeds €58.3 mln. Auctions held earlier this month, at a starting price of €20.01 mln, failed to attract any bidders.
Popoviciu was sentenced in Romania this August to seven years in prison for a series of illegal real estate deals which cost the Romanian state €600 mln. He fled to London but was detained and returned to Romania in November.
According to Capital Magazine's ranking, the Top 300 richest Romanians, Popoviciu has a fortune of €340-360 mln.
