Signa is preparing for further legal disputes

The court blocked Signa Development’s restructuring plan. The judge criticizes the lack of transparency and poor financial planning. Now Signa is fighting back.

Vienna. “We would like to give you a different message,” wrote Markus Neurauter on Saturday, August 10th in an email available to the “Presse”. Neurauter has been the head of the Signa Development subsidiary since April 2024. Together with Signa Prime, it is the most important and valuable company in the real estate group, which was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the Austria.

A real estate expert expresses his regret about the decision of the Vienna Higher Regional Court (OLG). This had hampered his plans and bankruptcy administrator Andrea Fruhstorfer’s plans for a bail settlement. The aim was to get more time to sell properties such as the Korneuburg port, the building in Muthgasse and the brakes working in Germany as successfully as possible. However, the court decided in favor of the financial prosecutor. As the lawyer of the Republic, she defended herself against the restructuring plan by appealing. Chief financial officer, Wolfgang Peschornhas previously criticized the lack of transparency in the process.

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If the decision of the OLG becomes final, the restructuring plan is off the table. Then bankruptcy would be inevitable. According to documents available to the “press”, Signa Development is already working on a revision course. This means that the decision will be questioned and the cases will continue Supreme Court (OGH). The company has two weeks to do this. Fruhstorfer’s bankruptcy administrator also informed creditors of the decision on Monday. “As soon as the debtor has the developed legal remedy, we will send it to you,” she announces. This emerges from the documents available to the “presses”. Signa’s sister company, Signa Prime, led by Norbert Abel, has already applied. The company, the real estate is like the park Hyatt folded, the bail was also denied.

Apparently, not only the debtor, ie Signa itself, but also each debtor has the right to defend themselves against the court’s order. In the end, the majority voted for the Treuhand, and Peschorn voted against it. Finanz represents only 0.007 percent of the applications at 150,079.06 euros. The main creditors are represented by experienced law firms. According to information from the “Presse”, the first phone calls with the main creditors and bankruptcy administrator Fruhstorfer were over the weekend. The charge of lack of transparency is particularly met with misunderstanding. Finally, the creditors and especially the big creditors, also known internally as “white knights”, were regularly notified. Cash flows were presented in presentations, and reports and the large loan agreement were also shared.

Controversial points

In the reasons for the judgment, the judge says: She writes that “bankruptcy takes place under the supervision and control of a committee of creditors, and in the process of restructuring the trust basically no only an annual accounting needs to be done by the trustee. However, one report was made for the approved quarter of the trust. Only one advisory board was rejected. In restructuring proceedings, the creditors’ committee, in which the financial prosecutor sits together with credit defenders, has the right to express opinions, but no veto rights beyond that.

There are also controversial points. For example, how to calculate the salary for Fruhstorfer into financial planning. So far she hasn’t seen any money, but she has given up. In the case of a trust, your salary is based on the proceeds from the sale and is defined in the bankruptcy rules. According to the court, this is currently estimated at ten million euros. “Delay simply postpones the payment due date,” the court documents say. Furthermore, the consultants did not take into account the costs of continuing the process. This means that a quota of 30 percent cannot be met.

The biggest concern now is the lower associations in the Signa structure. Eventually, these were financed by the large loan from the investor Hans Peter Haselsteiner stable The standstill agreements with the banks were also based on the resolution of the trust. It could still be months before a legal decision is made. Only then is the course set. In the event of bankruptcy, properties would be sold as quickly as possible.