Selfridges tycoon's property empire auctions rugs in scramble for cash

Rene Benko was fired from Signa late last year Photo: GEORG HOCHMUT/APA/AFP via Getty Images

A distressed real estate empire founded Selfridges tycoon Rene Benko is auctioning off rugs and clothes hangers in a bid to raise funds.

Assets owned by Signa are up for sale as the company grapples with cash crunches that led the company to insolvency last November . Administrators are also seeking €350m (£301m) from investors this year.

The request for cash was made in December, the Financial Times reported, as Signa administrator Erhard Grossnigg urged investors to provide the money «quickly» help hold out until April.

It comes as 465 Signa products were recently put up for sale online, including branded snow globes, office plants and recycling bins. Some items costing as little as 3 euros received bids of up to 500 euros.

Signa snow globes are among the auction lots. for hundreds of euros

Aurena, the Austrian company running the auction, said in an online announcement: “Anyone who wants a small share of Signa's prestigious properties can bid on carefully designed design brochures, images or 3D models of the buildings. from Park Hyatt Vienna.»

«Less glamorous items such as the Signa rug, Signa coat hangers or stationery are also put up for auction.»

The collapse of Signa led to… that many firms faced huge losses, including many European banks that lent Mr Empire Benko almost £7 billion.

The price of Signa-branded mats is currently €650

Among those hardest hit is the Austrian bank Raiffeisen, who is believed to have loaned Signa more than €750 million, and Swiss lender Julius Baer, ​​who is reportedly on the hook for €640 million. Italy's Unicredit, Credit Suisse and Germany's Commerzbank are also believed to have suffered heavy losses.

Earlier this week it emerged that Mr Benko was also at risk of losing his luxury Alpine villa after tax authorities brought a claim against the property.< /p>

Mr Benko was sacked from Signa at the end of last year.

The struggling real estate company has amassed some of the world's most iconic properties, including the Chrysler Building in New York and the luxury KaDeWe department store in Berlin. — some of them may be on sale.

Cigna has thrived in an era of cheap debt, although high interest rates and plummeting valuations have pushed the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

The company bought Selfridges in a £4bn deal in 2021 with a Thai company. Central Group.

However, the Thai retailer has since seized control of the British retailer after becoming a majority shareholder in November last year.

Signa has been contacted for comment .

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