BCR sells historic palace in Bucharest – EuropaProperty

Romanian bank BCR has completed the sale of the historic Oscar Maugsch Palace, located on Bucharest’s Universitatii Square, to the Luxembourg-based Vivion Investment Fund, controlled by Isaac and Amir Dayan from Israel. The value of the transaction is estimated to be between €30-35 million, according to unofficial sources quoted by Economica.net.

The historical building located in the heart of Bucharest was finalized in 1906, based on Oscar Maughsch’s architectural plans, and before becoming BCR’s property it was the headquarters of “Generala” Insurance Society. The palace occupies 4,000 sqm of land, including the former garden of the Sutu Palace, currently the Bucharest Municipality Museum, and has 12,000 useful sqm distributed in two buildings with five levels each, of which one is underground, and an attic on only one of the buildings. It served as BCR’s headquarters before the bank moved its central offices on Calea Victoriei.

A previous analysis by Colliers International who performed the comprehensive valuation of the asset found that transforming the building into a luxury hotel is the most feasible option, with final calculations showing that this scenario would be 15 percent more profitable for an investor compared to an office scenario. In order to accommodate an international chain affiliated luxury hotel, a building must offer at least 100 rooms, while BCR Palace could accommodate around 150 rooms.

JLL was the exclusive broker for BCR in this transaction, while Special Properties was the exclusive broker of the buyer.