Timpuri Noi still without a buyer

The 5.4-ha plot of land of Timpuri Noi plant, located around one km away from Piata Unirii in Bucharest, has been for sale for over four years, but the price its owners seek to get is almost three times lower now than it was during the real estate boom given the firm's around 20m-euro loans. "(...) I believe we had 30-40 offers for this plot of land in the last few years. Almost all retailers dropped by," says Adrian Breazu, general manager of Timpuri Noi firm, holding one of the most coveted plots of land in Bucharest in its portfolio. Timpuri Noi shareholders could have made a fortune had they sold the plant two or three years ago. Now, though, the asking price is that "of the market at the sale moment". "The best offer we got stood at 93m euros, in November 2007, but the other shareholders rejected it. (...) We're now talking about 30m euros," Breazu says. "Our weak point is that we're still operating here, so that whoever buys us cannot start work the next day. At the same time, we also have many buildings here that need to be demolished, so that the process would be even longer. The third reason is that we still have a series of law suits for areas of 2,000-3,000 square metres and potential buyers want them settled before striking the deal".