{"id":9241,"date":"2023-11-03T18:40:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T18:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/business\/austrian-property-tycoon-rene-benko-ousted-from-signa\/"},"modified":"2023-11-03T18:40:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T18:40:11","slug":"austrian-property-tycoon-rene-benko-ousted-from-signa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241","title":{"rendered":"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description\"><span>Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=b3590f90-f446-4ac8-ad73-0cad54790c56\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Billionaire property developer Ren\u00e9 Benko has been ousted from his real estate empire Signa amid a cash crunch that threatens to hit European lenders exposed to the indebted Austrian group.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Austrian state television on Friday afternoon, Signa investor Hans Peter Haselsteiner said he and other investors in Signa took note of Benko\u2019s departure \u201cin an affirmative and positive manner\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Haselsteiner said a \u201cfar-reaching solution\u201d was now needed for Signa.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Benko\u2019s ousting was first reported by the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, which Benko partly owns. Signa, which has long denied suggestions of any financial problems, did not respond to several requests for comment.\u00a0Benko could not be personally reached for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Signa, which says it owns a leveraged portfolio of assets worth \u20ac27bn including joint ownership of Selfridges in London, KaDeWe in Berlin and the Chrysler Building in New York, is seeking to restructure its operations. It is in discussions with its major shareholders about an emergency lifeline, two sources familiar with the company\u2019s finances said.<\/p>\n<p>Arndt Geiwitz, the prominent German insolvency expert who was called in to restructure Lufthansa in 2020, has been appointed by the Innsbruck-headquartered company to try to find a financial solution to its problems.<\/p>\n<p>A collection of hundreds of corporate entities linking back to Liechtenstein-based trusts, Signa has been facing headwinds for more than a year.<\/p>\n<p>Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which Signa owned, filed for insolvency last year, triggering public anger at Benko as Germany\u2019s largest department store chain cut thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Signa insisted it was financially insulated from problems in its portfolio, stressing its prime assets \u2014 ultra-luxury developments around Europe known as \u201cSigna Prime\u201d \u2014 have retained their value amid growing vacancies across Europe\u2019s commercial property and retail market.<\/p>\n<p>Other problems have stymied efforts to raise funds. Signa\u2019s offices were raided by Austrian police last year as part of a sprawling probe by Austrian prosecutors into high-level corruption.\u00a0In February, Deutsche Bank cut ties with the company over concerns about the financial and reputational risks of keeping it as a client.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, revelations have deepened concerns over the group\u2019s liquidity. A \u20ac150mn lifeline to Signa Sports United, its struggling online retail sports division, was cancelled last month, forcing the NYSE-listed company into bankruptcy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And work on the Elbtower in Hamburg, a \u20ac700mn project to erect the third-tallest building in Germany, was halted last week because Signa stopped paying workers\u2019 salaries.<\/p>\n<p>Benko built Signa over the last two decades, becoming a billionaire by the time he was 40.\u00a0His personal fortune was estimated by Forbes this year at \u20ac6bn. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/b3590f90-f446-4ac8-ad73-0cad54790c56\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Billionaire property&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa | inFundPros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Billionaire property developer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa | inFundPros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Billionaire property developer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"inFundPros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/tech-wall.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Press Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Press Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Press Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/87f7e632b195ea95c91503d9281f5eff\"},\"headline\":\"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241\"},\"wordCount\":465,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241\",\"name\":\"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa | inFundPros\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Billionaire property developer\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/\",\"name\":\"Fintech Advance\",\"description\":\"Latest Finance and Tech News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Fintech Advance\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/tech-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/tech-logo.png\",\"width\":409,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Fintech Advance\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/87f7e632b195ea95c91503d9281f5eff\",\"name\":\"Press Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/avatar_user_1_1697230663-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/avatar_user_1_1697230663-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Press Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa | inFundPros","description":"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Billionaire property developer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa | inFundPros","og_description":"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Billionaire property developer","og_url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241","og_site_name":"inFundPros","article_published_time":"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/tech-wall.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Press Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Press Room","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241"},"author":{"name":"Press Room","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/87f7e632b195ea95c91503d9281f5eff"},"headline":"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa","datePublished":"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241"},"wordCount":465,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241","url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241","name":"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa | inFundPros","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-03T18:40:11+00:00","description":"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Billionaire property developer","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9241#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Austrian property tycoon Ren\u00e9 Benko ousted from Signa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/","name":"Fintech Advance","description":"Latest Finance and Tech News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#organization","name":"Fintech Advance","url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/tech-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/tech-logo.png","width":409,"height":70,"caption":"Fintech Advance"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/87f7e632b195ea95c91503d9281f5eff","name":"Press Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/avatar_user_1_1697230663-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/avatar_user_1_1697230663-96x96.png","caption":"Press Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/infundpros.com"],"url":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?author=1"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}