First official loss of a mall: 40 million euros

Tiago Mall in Oradea was bought by a company close to billionaire Gabriel Popoviciu for 30.5 million euros at the end of last week. The price was 40 million euros lower than the investment made by Irish Mivan group, the developer of the project. UniCredit, the lender, will get back its 30 million euros granted for the construction work, while Mivan-Kier, the company that built it and other unsecured suppliers will have to take the loss. The address of the registered office of Shopping Center Holding, and one of the shareholders Dumitru Ciocoiu, tie the name of the buyer to that of businessman Gabriel Popoviciu, owner of the Baneasa project in northern Bucharest, who could make a profit from buying assets of bankrupt companies.
The acquisition of the currently bankrupt Tiago Oradea is the biggest real estate deal of this year, whereas two years ago investment funds would pay more than 100 million euros for business parks and malls of comparable size.
Shopping Center Holding, in which Dumitru Ciocoiu, who is close to businessman Gabriel Popoviciu, owns 10%, committed to pay 30.5 million euros for the shopping centre in Oradea developed by Mivan through MLS Proiect at the end of a auction with only one other bidder that did not meet all the requirements, though.
The price paid by buyers accounts for only 40% of the investment made in the building of the mall, which was never opened and is the first mall auctioned as a result of the bankruptcy of the developer.