Top manager at Signa dismissed without notice due to suspicion
Published: Monday, Dec 11th 2023, 23:20
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The ailing real estate and retail group Signa has dismissed the CEOs of its most important subsidiaries. Among them is Timo Herzberg, head of Signa Prime Selection AG and Signa Development Selection AG.
Herzberg has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect and dismissed without notice, the Signa Group, founded by billionaire René Benko, announced in Vienna on Monday evening.
The reasons for the dismissals were an urgent suspicion of gross violations of duties as a member of the Management Board, the statement continued. The reorganizer Erhard Grossnig will take over the function of CEO in both real estate companies, which are to be reorganized and restructured. Several Signa Group companies had recently filed for insolvency.
The most important properties and construction projects in the Signa portfolio belong to Signa Prime - including the Elbtower construction project in Hamburg, which is currently at a standstill, the KaDeWe department store in Berlin and department store properties of the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof chain.
Signa also has a stake in the Globus department stores in Switzerland. Globus co-owner, the Swiss Signa Retail Selection AG, was granted a provisional debt restructuring moratorium on Wednesday last week.
Signa Prime posted a loss of around one billion euros in the previous year and had around 10.8 billion euros in debt at the end of 2022. Signa Development posted a loss of 316 million euros.
During the low-interest phase of recent years, Benko was able to take out cheap loans and attract financially strong investors to greatly expand his group. The recent rise in interest rates, construction costs and energy prices have put his complex network of companies in a precarious position.
©Keystone/SDA
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