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Nikolaj Schmolcke, former CFO of Lufthansa, has examined the balance sheets of the two main companies in the troubled real estate group Signa. These were published late and showed René Benko’s great willingness to take risks.

The bankrupt Signa Holding and Signa Prime Selection sometimes published their annual accounts very late: for Prime it took up to five years after the reporting date, for Holding up to four years. “Anyone who doesn’t publish has a problem or something to hide, or both,” says Schmolcke.

According to Münchner, the Hamburg economist reported that Prime Selection, which bundles top properties such as the KaDeWe in Berlin or the Elbtower in Hamburg, only published the consolidated annual accounts for 2021 after 22 months, and for 2022 after ten months “Evening Newspaper”. (weekend).

Transfer tax saved

According to the newspaper report, financial expert Schmolcke reads a lot from Signa’s annual accounts: for example, that Signa has saved on transfer tax through so-called “shared deals”. Or that Prime Selection made a profit of 732 million euros (694 million francs) in 2021 alone with a turnover of 438 million euros (415 million francs).

The increased valuations for René Benko’s properties are striking. The founder of Signa from Tyrol had the future value of each copy estimated. “The higher valuations then show profit,” explains Schmolcke. In 2021 alone, Benko’s real estate portfolio increased in value by a billion.

This worked because Prime Selection does not report according to the UGB (Austrian counterpart of the HGB), but according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). According to them, real estate can be valued higher than the acquisition value.

Placed at full risk

The annual accounts also show that the company suffered a loss of 12.6 million euros in 2021, or that Signa took out loans amounting to 120 million euros for the Bahnhofsplatz in Munich.

Particularly striking: according to the report, the documents show that Benko took full risks. “He managed EUR 3.6 billion of EUR 6.7 billion in variable interest loan volume. This is similar to casino, gambling», said Schmolcke. When interest rates rise, costs explode.

“One percentage point higher interest rate corresponds to 36 million euros – per year.” If interest rates were to rise by three percentage points – as they recently did – that would amount to more than 100 million per year. According to the information, Prime Select AG had current assets of EUR 686 million in 2022, which were offset by current liabilities of EUR 2.7 billion.

In 2021, this deficit was still 1.4 billion. “That did not stop Prime Select from paying out a dividend of 225 million euros.”

The financiers agreed

Schmolcke emphasizes that none of this is illegal. He summarizes: “Benko values ​​the properties highly, making profits, attractive to investors and raising money from the banks. And then he pays himself 2,205 million euros in profit.”

The financiers took this risk. “It depends on the willingness to go along with it. The creditors have accepted this. The bankruptcy administration will now take care of the rest.” (saw/sda/awp/apa)