Bank of Cyprus has sold 35 properties to mainly foreign buyers, yielding some EUR 450 mln while unloading non-core assets and contributing to jump-starting big development projects.
Each property is worth tens of millions of euros, with the majority being sold to foreign investors who took advantage of the crisis that hit the island, as most properties were acquired by BoC as part of asset to debt agreements.
The above figures do not include the bank’s recent sale of 21 properties worth EUR 149 mln to Greek company NBG PANGAEA.
As reported by Insider, the properties were sold mainly to investors from third countries such as Russia, Israel, Lebanon and China. Ten of the most important transactions are:
1. A seafront plot of land in Limassol which was bought by a Russian investor for EUR 80 mln, who is now developing the ‘Trilogy’ housing and commercial project.
2. A seafront plot in Pyrgos, Limassol was sold to an investor from Lebanon for EUR 40 mln. The investor is also to build a housing and commercial project.
3. Chinese investors planning to build the first Sofitel in Cyprus have bought another seafront plot in Limassol for EUR 30 mln.
4. The Kermia Hotel in Ayia Napa was sold to Cypriot hotel company Atlantica for EUR 26.5 mln, with the company investing significant amounts in refurbishing and expanding the hotel.
5. Three hotels in Paphos (Cypria Maris, Laoura, Cyprian Bay) worth close to EUR 60 mln was purchased by the Israeli company Fatal. The hotels have undergone renovations and rebranding.
6. Paphian Sun Hotel in Paphos, which was closed for a long time, was bought by the Cypriot hotel company Atlantica Hotels and Resorts for EUR 15 mln and is currently being renovated with plans to open its doors in the summer of 2019.
7. Nicosia’s former Holiday Inn which was recently purchased by Greek PANGAEA for EUR 12.5 mln.
8. Touristic plots in the village of Sotira in Famagusta were sold for about EUR 12 mln to an Israeli investor. The investor aims to develop the seafront plots in the near future.
9. Plots of land in Peyia, Paphos were acquired for about 10 million euros by a Russian investor with plans for future development.
10. Cyfield, a Cypriot developer company acquired a building on Makarios Avenue in Nicosia, owned by Bank of Cyprus for EUR 10 mln, which it demolished and is now erecting what is to be the capital’s tallest building, dubbed the ‘360’.
Meanwhile relatively lower value transactions made, include the sale of the former sports center of Bank of Cyprus, which was bought by the Senior School and a plot of land on the coastal front of Phinikoudes in Larnaca which is to be developed by a Russian investor.
BoC is close to sealing other deals which will see the bank offloading similar properties in the near future, Insider reported.
