Final push to save sale of Astir Palace

By Ilias Bellos

Majority stakeholder National Bank and interested investors are making a last-ditch effort to avert failure of the Astir Palace Resort sale, which has stumbled on the objections the Council of State to a presidential decree approving a radical revamp of the Astir plot at Vouliagmeni, and of the Mikro Kavouri peninsula more generally.

Some 400 million euros are at stake for the Greek side, as this is the price Jermyn Street Real Estate Fund IV LP will pay for a 90 percent stake in the Athens-listed resort company through its 100 percent subsidiary Apollo Investment Hold Co. Around 300 million euros of that concerns National Bank and the rest is destined for state coffers.

Sources from the candidate buyers have told Kathimerini that they intend to discuss amendments to the construction plan but they make no secret of the fact that they are running our of patience. The process has already dragged on for more than two years, while the winning bidder was announced in December 2013. Notably, the share capital value of Astir Palace has lost more than half of its worth, dropping from 300 million euros to 135 million last week.