Turnaround specialist investor Attestor Ltd will provide a loan of as much as €100 million to Signa’s insolvent luxury property unit, a key step towards avoiding a firesale of assets as it winds down. 

The financing will allow projects of Signa Prime Selection AG to be stabilised, ensuring a more orderly sales process, the unit’s administrator said in a statement on Friday, without providing further details. 

The cash injection is the first loan from outside investors since the conglomerate founded by Austrian tycoon Rene Benko started unravelling in 2023. It will help meet conditions of a restructuring plan approved by creditors earlier this month that envisions the sale of assets by a trustee, and proceeds being used to pay back at least 30% of claims against the company.

The administrator said Signa Prime was planning to meet the necessary requirements for the trustee-led restructuring by the end of April. 

Signa Prime’s administrator has been seeking fresh financing in order to bring several high-profile assets, including the Elbtower in Hamburg, out of preliminary insolvency, and boost potential revenue from disposals. Signa’s largest unit also holds stakes in London’s Selfridges department store and Berlin’s KaDeWe.

London-based Attestor manages about €7 billion in assets, with recent investments including the takeover of German low-cost airline Condor and the car rental agency Europcar. 

Attestor was among funds, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Elliott Investment Management, that Signa approached last year in an attempt to secure €600 million of emergency liquidity, Bloomberg previously reported. Those negotiations ultimately failed due to the complicated debt structure, as well as a tight deadline.

  - Bloomberg