Buyer sought for skyscraper

BANK restructuring management company (SAREBN) handling the In Tempo building, Europe’s largest residential skyscraper, has hired a consultancy company from Madrid to assess what it is going to cost to finish the estimated 5 per cent of construction works left to be done to the building, which has been shut down since May 2014.

Some sources claim that completion works will cost €7 to €8 million. The aim of the assessment is also to try and locate a buyer, according to lawyers handling the bankrupt promoter of the project, Olga Urbana, since the the corporation that originally built In Tempo was declared insolvent last year.

Nova Galicia is the largest of the creditors, with debt standing at €93 million. The assessment will try to establish the value of the property as it stands – unfinished and finished – to check the viability of completing the 5 per cent works, which will include the parking areas, swimming pool and residential development.

It is estimated that the works could be completed within five months. Benidorm’s Councillor for Urbanism, Lourdes Caselles, has asked for copies of the In Tempo plans, stating: “This emblematic skyscraper is already significant to the image of the Benidorm skyline, and a solution to the problem is what is needed so that it becomes a functional building.”

The main purpose of the sale is to try to cover, among other things, the debts with different creditors, including SAREB, amounting to €141 million.

However, it is not expected that the sale value will exceed €50 million, a far cry from the original €141 million figure that was expected. This has caused controversy, especially among the creditors, with the fears that the lesser creditors stand to lose everything.