Foreclosures: Prominent families and companies included in the new auction list

A wave of foreclosures is set to begin in early September, immediately after the August break. Notably, more than 11,000 electronic auctions of various categories are scheduled from this restart through the early months of 2025. The majority will involve real estate, ranging from houses, plots, and offices to industrial spaces, factories, hotels, and even helicopter hangars.

Among these auctions, several high-profile cases stand out, including some prominent names that once thrived in the business world but later faced significant challenges.

The Markopoulo Racetrack

One notable case is the 1,000-acre property in Markopoulo, home to the Olympic Equestrian Center and the racetrack, which will be auctioned with a starting bid of €30.14 million. This makes it the most expensive auction currently scheduled for the coming months. The auction is set for November 6, with the debtor being the Hellenic Horse Racing Organization (ODIE) under liquidation, and the special liquidator being EY.

The property consists of two parcels in the Pousi Bartzi – Merenda area of Markopoulo, totaling 1,067,484.95 square meters. The land includes all existing and future buildings, their components, and annexes.

The first parcel initially covered 983,325.57 square meters, and the second 88,399.36 square meters. They are outside the city plan, outside settlement boundaries, within the Merenda archaeological site, within the General Urban Plan (GUP) of Markopoulo Mesogaias – Equestrian Center Zone, and are generally suitable and buildable.

On this unified property, various buildings have been constructed for the Olympic Equestrian Center & New Athens Racetrack project, including the track, the grandstand, stables, maintenance workshops, paddocks, public areas with betting offices and snack bars, and other necessary outdoor facilities.

The buildings are located within the buildable section of the zone, while in other parts of the zone, stables, storage, stables offices, maintenance buildings, rider schools, and laboratories have been constructed.

It is noted that the current regulations allow for sports facilities on the land. Additionally, the 2019 law permits adding tourism and recreation uses (excluding casinos) to the New Racetrack property.

It is also permitted to have special uses like “Sports Facilities” and “Automobile and Motorcycle Racing Tracks.”

It should be noted that on January 30, Horse Races S.A. announced the immediate cessation of Greek horse racing, as the registered horse population had fallen below 300 for two consecutive years. The company exercised its right to terminate the lease agreement, returning the property to its owner (ODIE S.A. under special liquidation).

New Auctions for the Livanis Family

The Livanis group, and particularly publisher Elias Livanis, continues to face the consequences of the long-term crisis and financial difficulties. Despite successfully fending off foreclosure threats on personal and corporate assets in the past, the struggle persists, particularly for the property listed as his residence in the Lycabettus area.

A new auction is scheduled for November 13, with Cepal as the foreclosing party for a debt of €662,335, plus interest, execution costs, etc. The auction targets a third-floor apartment at the intersection of Daskalogianni and Paliggenesias streets, with a starting bid of €634,000 for the apartment and €16,000 for the parking space.

It is worth noting that the Livanis family, especially Elias Livanis, has faced three other auctions. One for an apartment he owns in Filothei, which was suspended after a payment order was canceled; another for the Greek Roots agricultural production unit in Veria, which was auctioned and changed hands a few months ago; and a third for the historic headquarters of Livanis Publications at the intersection of Solonos and Ippokratous streets. The auction was scheduled for April 11 but was eventually canceled, with the family’s legal representatives announcing that the process was deemed void.

However, the spotlight is now also on his sister Panagiota (Giota) Livani, with an auction scheduled for October 2. The auction, initiated by Cepal, concerns her lifetime usufruct right on horizontal properties in a building in Agia Paraskevi, in the Gilberthi area.

Finally, an auction is set for January 8, 2025, against Livanis Publishing Group S.A., again initiated by Cepal, for a 2,394.53 square meter plot in the Ano Liosia district of the Municipality of Fyli, within the Industrial Park (BIO.PA.). The starting bid is set at €720,000.

Apostolos Lytras

The lawyer Apostolos Lytras, who remains in pretrial detention, accused of the brutal assault on his wife, Sofia Polyzoopoulou, is also facing a series of property auctions.

One of these auctions involves his maisonette in Patima, Chalandri, which was initially scheduled for June 26 but was postponed and later re-listed on the electronic platform for October 9.

According to the appraisal report, this property, where his ex-wife is believed to be residing, includes a unit labeled “House A” with a total area of 184.24 square meters. It is a single horizontal property consisting of a basement, ground floor, and first floor, all connected by an internal staircase, with a tiled roof above.

On the same day, a separate auction will be held for an underground parking space of 10.12 square meters. The starting bids have been set at €367,877 for the maisonette and €11,132 for the parking space.

Another auction is scheduled for November 20 for a horizontal property (an office complex) on the third floor at 8 Emmanouil Benaki Street in Athens.

The main advantage of this building is its location, as it is situated in the heart of downtown Athens. Therefore, the starting bid for these two small offices has been set at €74,000.

Both properties carry significant encumbrances due to past debts.

Wineries

The wine industry continues to suffer from the consequences of prolonged crises, with historic names being acquired, such as Boutaris, and others facing bankruptcy, like Tsantalis. In this unfavorable environment, significant wineries in the country, such as the Vasiliou Estate, continue to struggle with challenges.

Led by the iconic George Vasiliou, this is one of the most important wine companies excelling with its labels both domestically and internationally. Despite this, it has become embroiled in auction proceedings for the Nemeion Wine and Vineyards Estate and its pioneering winery in Nemea. This is the family’s secondary production base—after their main one in Koropi—with 100 acres of vineyards for red wine production.

The auction initially scheduled for June 26, but without success, involved an agricultural property with a total area of 7,295 square meters in the location of Korfopsilia, within the Nemea Municipal Community. Within this estate, a craft building is developed, consisting of a ground floor and first floor, with an area of 800 square meters and 170 square meters, respectively.

The Nemeion Estate Winery is described as a “real work of art” and spans five levels. In the basement, besides the production area, there is a reception area and a wine museum. The first floor features a large space overlooking the vineyard, used for events, while the second floor houses six luxury suites. The starting bid for the re-auction scheduled for September 27 has been set at €846,412.

Following a downward trend in recent years, the historic Tsantalis Winery, with a history of 134 years, filed for bankruptcy at the end of July, which is expected to be heard on October 11. An auction has already been scheduled against the company, which ceased production in August 2023, for October 23 for a debt of €13,560.

The procedure is directed against Evangelos Tsantalis S.A.—Viticulture & Winemaking & Distilling, with a private individual as the initiator, and concerns a commercial property in Naoussa.

It is an agricultural plot of 2,000 square meters, part of a larger one, located in the Kouticha area of the Naoussa Municipal Unit, on the provincial road of Veria—Skydra, 150 meters before the junction to the town of Naoussa.

On the plot, there is a commercial building for storage use by the winery with an area of 280 square meters, with a section of the first floor measuring 125 square meters, of conventional construction, with a stone facade.

At the rear part, a metal canopy of 250 square meters was constructed to house metal liquid storage tanks. The starting bid has been set at €124,000.

Emfietzoglou and Psallidas

Two once-powerful names in the construction sector remain under the pressure of auctions. Prodromos Emfietzoglou, who had a long and eventful journey in the market with his company Mechaniki, is now facing two significant auctions. However, it’s worth noting that previous auctions for the same properties, scheduled for last year or earlier, were eventually suspended. The first auction involves the Emfietzoglou family’s grand residential complex in Anavryta. The auction is scheduled for November 20, initiated by Cepal, unless appeals or other suspension actions occur by then.

The initial starting price, previously set at €6.79 million, has been increased to €10.7 million, according to a recent appraisal report (April 2024).

Another auction is scheduled for January 22, 2025, for a property he owns in Neo Faliro. This property is a plot at the intersection of Karaiskaki Street and Eirinis Avenue, where an old house once stood. The house was later expanded into a two-story building with a basement, with a total area of 293 square meters for main use and 106.50 square meters for auxiliary use. Cepal is the initiator, and the starting price has been set at €729,000.

In addition to his palace in Anavryta, another property of Prodromos Emfietzoglou in Neo Faliro is also going for auction

Recently, the Psallidas family, once at the helm of the powerful Edra Psallidas company, which participated in most of the country’s major infrastructure projects, has also become entangled in the auction whirlwind.

After losing corporate assets and a vacation home in Mykonos, the focus has now shifted to a property-apartment owned by Konstantinos Psallidas in the Chalandri area.

The auction is scheduled for November 13, unless actions are taken to suspend it. The property is located on a plot of 1,139.34 square meters in the Liousa or Toufa area, with Cepal initiating the auction.

In the whirlwind of auctions is also the Psallidas family, once-powerful Edra Psallidas, which participated in most of the country’s major infrastructure projects.

Plots in Mykonos

On September 26, three plots in Mykonos, once owned by companies associated with the Patronis family, are scheduled to be auctioned.

Two of the plots, with sea views belonging to Rodon Hellas, are located in the Fanari area. These are agricultural parcels, suitable for building, located outside the General Urban Plan (GUP), the Zone of Absolute Protection (ZOE), and outside the settlement, with an area of 4,196 square meters according to the cadastral diagram.

The second similar agricultural plot is also suitable for building, outside the GUP, within the ZOE, and outside the settlement, with an area of 4,208 square meters. The initiator of the auction is Intrum, and the starting prices, due to previous unsuccessful auctions, have been reduced to 65% of the original, meaning €273,000 (from €420,000) and €274,300 (from €422,000) respectively.

The third and largest plot, with an area of 14 acres, belonged to Marsa Oikodomiki and is also located in the Fanari area. The plot is suitable for building in a zone where residential construction, tourist residences, commercial stores, etc., are allowed. It is noted that with residential use or a furnished tourist villa, it is possible to build 339 square meters. The starting price has been reduced by 35%, to €931,450 (from €1.43 million).

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