Completion planned

Signa: Hamburg construction company takes over Elbtower

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/dpa/Marcus Brandt)

A particularly prominent legacy from the Signa bankruptcies - the unfinished Elbtower skyscraper in Hamburg - appears to have been rescued. The Hamburg-based building contractor Dieter Becken is said to have reached an agreement with the insolvency administrator and will take over the Elbtower construction site. The aim is to complete Hamburg's tallest building by 2030.

Specifically, Becken Development GmbH has reached a preliminary purchase agreement with the insolvency administrator. Insolvency administrator Torsten Martini said he was confident that the sale would be concluded with the group, reported dpa with reference to a joint announcement by Becken Holding and the insolvency administrator law firm Görg on Friday evening.

Completion planned by 2030
A detailed purchase agreement will be drawn up shortly, the German newspaper "Morgenpost" reported earlier on Friday afternoon. According to the report, the anchor tenant will not be a bank or insurance company - but a natural history museum on a third of the space. A hotel and another major tenant could also be added. The unfinished building is set to become Hamburg's first skyscraper by 2030.

Bankrupt memorial for more than a year
The Elbtower, a memorial to the Signa bankruptcies in Germany's second-largest city, has not been built for more than a year. The project was halted after the construction company stopped receiving payments from the project company belonging to Tyrolean René Benko's insolvent conglomerate.

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/dpa/Daniel Bockwoldt)

About a month ago, the insolvency administrator for the Elbtower in Hamburg's Hafencity expressed further confidence that he would be able to present a new investor for the building, which had already been started, in the fall. There were negotiations "with a handful of interested parties" from Germany and abroad, including foreign consortia and German bidders, said Torsten Martini at the time. "If the purchase agreements were signed in the fall, the purchase could be completed by the end of the year."

To be 245 meters high
The Elbe Tower is to be 245 meters high and tower over Hamburg's harbour landscape. For comparison: Vienna's tallest building is the DC Tower at 220 meters.

According to the newspaper report, Becken is a renowned real estate entrepreneur in the Hanseatic city. His projects include the Berliner Bogen at the Berliner Tor, the police headquarters and the Deichtor-Center.

Lamarr department store sold
The Signa Lamarr department store shell on Vienna's Mariahilfer Strasse was recently sold. The Viennese real estate entrepreneur Georg Stumpf bought it for 100 million euros. 200 million euros will be required for completion. Added to this are 390 million euros in liens from banks.

Other properties from the empire of record bankrupt René Benko are also said to be on the verge of changing hands, such as the luxury Park Hyatt hotel in Vienna. According to a recent report by law firm Abel, the "Renngasse Wien" complex could change hands even more quickly next year. This is home to the Constitutional Court and the Kunstforum. The offer period recently ended here with "positive feedback", as it was put.