The bankrupt Austrian real estate company, founded by now-prisoner businessman René Benko, has reportedly put Vienna’s Park Hyatt hotel, one of the capital’s most prestigious, and the associated luxury stores, including the Prada flagship, up for sale.
Signa’s bankruptcy at the end of 2023 continues to produce collateral “victims”…
After last year’s sales of the German KaDeWe department store to Thailand’s Central Group, of its stake in the British Selfridges group to the Saudi Arabian public investment fund, and of the luxury Bauer hotel in Venice to the Schoeller Group, the Austrian real estate empire in the throes of collapse is reportedly preparing to offload Vienna’s Park Hyatt hotel and the luxury shops adjacent to it.
In 2000,René Benko founded Signa, now Austria’s largest privately-owned real estate company. It had grown at an astonishing rate, acquiring iconic assets in Europe and across the Atlantic. But Signa was caught up in the European real estate turmoil and filed for bankruptcy in November 2023, along with its subsidiary Signa Prime, holding its most luxurious assets, a month later.
René Benko in custody
In January 2025, René Benko was arrested and remanded in custody on fraud charges. He was suspected of concealing Signa Holding assets from investigators.
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Read also > Saudi state investment fund becomes minority shareholder in Selfridges
Featured photo: front of the Park Hyatt luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria © Park Hyatt
