City Mall owners file for mall's insolvency

The owners of City Mall shopping centre in Bucharest, Australian investment fund APN European Retail Property Group, have filed for the insolvency of Victoria Holding subsidiary, the company whose portfolio includes the mall in the Eroii Revoluţiei Square area.

The move comes after the company defaulted on a 40 million-euro debt to UniCredit due this month.
The Bucharest Court of Law is set to rule on the insolvency petition today, with this being the first shopping centre in Bucharest that could become insolvent, and later bankrupt.
The first mall in Romania to enter bankruptcy proceedings, Tiago in Oradea, was also financed by UniCredit, but later a buyer was found, a company controlled by businessman Gabriel Popoviciu.
Opened in 2005, City Mall was the third modern shopping centre in Bucharest and the biggest real estate transaction in Bucharest in 2006, when it was purchased by the Australians for 103.5 million euros. The mall is now worth 34.5 million euros.