Empire of Selfridges tycoon faces fraud complaint
Hannah Boland
Mon, 5 February 2024
Signa Development, part of Rene Benko’s property empire, filed for insolvency in late December - Georg Hochmuth/AFP
The property empire of Selfridges tycoon Rene Benko is facing a criminal fraud complaint as creditors push for an investigation into alleged “unlawful transactions”.
Lenders to Signa have filed a criminal complaint with Austrian anti-fraud prosecutors, raising concerns over “a considerable outflow of assets of more than €662m (£567m)” from one of its holding companies to shareholders and sister companies in the run-up to its collapse.
Signa Development – part of the Benko property empire, which is an investor in Selfridges alongside Thai company Central Group – filed for insolvency in late December. It was said to be one of the most cash generative units of the Signa empire.
According to the Financial Times, the lenders claimed there was a “presumably deliberate” lack of transparency before Signa Development declared it was bust.
In the claim, they said: “It is suspected that the asset transactions described were carried out in wilful violation of the mandatory capital maintenance regulations [of the company] and to the detriment of Signa Development and its creditors.”
A spokesman for Austria’s State Prosecutor for Economic Crime and Corruption declined to comment on any specific complaints. Signa did not respond to requests for comment.
It is the latest twist in the collapse of one of the world’s largest property empires, which had counted many major banks and wealth funds among its lenders. At the time it failed, Signa owed European banks almost £7bn. The company was pushed to the brink by high interest rates and plummeting valuations.
It is currently going through a self-administration process whereby it is racing to raise cash and last month auctioned off doormats and coat hangers. The Signa business is understood to be hugely complex and involves around 1,000 different entities.
Alongside Selfridges, Mr Benko’s empire included half of New York’s Chrysler building and the historic five-star Bauer Hotel on Venice’s Grand Canal. It bought the British luxury department store for £4bn in 2022 together with Central Group.
Late last year, Central opted to convert a loan in the trading company of Selfridges to become the majority shareholder in the group.
Hannah Boland
Mon, 5 February 2024
Signa Development, part of Rene Benko’s property empire, filed for insolvency in late December - Georg Hochmuth/AFP
The property empire of Selfridges tycoon Rene Benko is facing a criminal fraud complaint as creditors push for an investigation into alleged “unlawful transactions”.
Lenders to Signa have filed a criminal complaint with Austrian anti-fraud prosecutors, raising concerns over “a considerable outflow of assets of more than €662m (£567m)” from one of its holding companies to shareholders and sister companies in the run-up to its collapse.
Signa Development – part of the Benko property empire, which is an investor in Selfridges alongside Thai company Central Group – filed for insolvency in late December. It was said to be one of the most cash generative units of the Signa empire.
According to the Financial Times, the lenders claimed there was a “presumably deliberate” lack of transparency before Signa Development declared it was bust.
In the claim, they said: “It is suspected that the asset transactions described were carried out in wilful violation of the mandatory capital maintenance regulations [of the company] and to the detriment of Signa Development and its creditors.”
A spokesman for Austria’s State Prosecutor for Economic Crime and Corruption declined to comment on any specific complaints. Signa did not respond to requests for comment.
It is the latest twist in the collapse of one of the world’s largest property empires, which had counted many major banks and wealth funds among its lenders. At the time it failed, Signa owed European banks almost £7bn. The company was pushed to the brink by high interest rates and plummeting valuations.
It is currently going through a self-administration process whereby it is racing to raise cash and last month auctioned off doormats and coat hangers. The Signa business is understood to be hugely complex and involves around 1,000 different entities.
Alongside Selfridges, Mr Benko’s empire included half of New York’s Chrysler building and the historic five-star Bauer Hotel on Venice’s Grand Canal. It bought the British luxury department store for £4bn in 2022 together with Central Group.
Late last year, Central opted to convert a loan in the trading company of Selfridges to become the majority shareholder in the group.
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