Significant NPL transaction news (some successful and some not), and hotels acquisitions are July’s core activity in Greece according to the RE market-focused news published in the local press. In the NPL & REO sector, Skyline project was successfully concluded, when Alpha Bank sold the portfolio with the 575 owned and reclaimed properties to the Dimand-Premia scheme. On the other hand, the tender for the long-awaited Ariadne mega-project, run by the special liquidator PQH, was unsuccessful. The price, under the current circumstances, was considered high by the investors, who placed bids lower than the seller’s demands, despite the RE collateral that came with the loans for sale. PQH now considers breaking the mega-portfolio into smaller ones, before attempting to sell again.
In terms of RE transactions, two hotels were announced to have changed hands last month, both on islands: Tinos and Crete.
The investors also remain focused on logistics centers and warehouses, especially in Attica and close to big ports, like Thessaloniki. In July, two such acquisitions were announced/published in the media.
More specifically, in July:
Hospitality
Two major transactions were announced at the hospitality sector: Cretan Investments Group Hellas acquired the Village Resort & Waterpark in Heraklion, Crete. The investor, in just two years of activity, owns now more than 400 rooms. Meanwhile, Attica Blue Hospitality Hellas announced the acquisition of hotel Tinos Beach, located in Kionia Tinos, for a total price of €6.5 m This is the second hotel acquisition by Attica Group, the first one being in Naxos, last December.
Logistics
In the always active logistics sector, Trastor REIC announced the acquisition of two independent commercial warehouses, at the price of almost €13 m. Ble Kedros REIC on another note, was declared the highest bidder for the acquisition of a plot of 4.710.66 sq.m. with a multi-storey building, in Metamorfosi, Attica. The company offered €2.6 m.
Offices
Dimand announced it will develop a building of total area 22,550 sq.m. on a plot it recently acquired, on Kifisias avenue. The building is expected to be delivered within 18 months and will be 100% owned by Dimand and leased to PwC for 10+10 years. The investment is expected to surpass €50 m, and the modern building will serve PwC’s goal of climate neutrality by 2030.
NPLs/REOs
Two announcements of NPL deals were made in July. Ariadne project by PQH was not one of them, and the tender for the Ariadne mega project was unsuccessful. The offers by the investors did not meet the expectations or the conditions sent by the seller. The Ariadne portfolio has a book value of €5.2 bn, but in terms of total nominal demand, i.e. together with off-book interest, its value reaches €13.9 bn. This is the largest and most complex portfolio of bad loans transferred to date.
On another note, Alpha Bank announced the preferred investor for the Skyline project, the Dimand – Premia scheme. The portfolio includes approximately 575 owned and reclaimed properties, worth approximately €500 m. These are 50 prime assets, an additional 320 properties of high commercial value, as well as a portfolio of 205 houses and apartments.
In Cyprus, the National Bank of Greece has completed the sale of 100% of its credit acquisition subsidiary, CAC Coral Ltd, which owns and manages a portfolio of non-performing corporate loans, loans to small and medium enterprises, as well as consumer and mortgage loans of total book value €325 m (approx. €200 m real estate insurable value), to the investment company Bain Capital Credit. The portfolio in its majority includes loans with a maturity of more than 10 years.
Land
In Cyprus, REMU, the Real Estate Management Unit of the Bank of Cyprus, announced the sale of a property with a total area of almost 11,000 sq.m. next to The Mall of Cyprus. Reportedly the property, currently used as a parking lot, was sold to an investor for an amount close to €8m. The property came to the hands of REMU through the restructuring of the company CTC. The special planning zone allows the development of exhibition spaces, hypermarkets for different purposes and supporting services of the General Hospital (parking areas, small hotels, medical laboratories).
