Βy L. Karageorgos
[email protected]
The fate of the premium property which today hosts the five-star King George Hotel in downtown Athens is expected to be decided within the next two weeks. The hotel is currently under the management of the Lampsa group, which also manages the Grande Bretagne, adjacent to the King George.
The two iconic hotels are located on Syntagma Square, in the heart of Athens and across from the Parliament building.
Lampsa's primary shareholders, the Laskaridis family, are expected to soon field an official query by Greek lender Eurobank - which owns the property - on whether they are interested in buying the property. Eurobank and Lampsa are also expected to negotiate the future of a bond loan extended to the latter, which matures in 2018.
The bank is expected to scrutinize whatever binding bids have been received to date for the property.
Lampsa retains the right to match the highest bid submitted for the property and buy it outright.
Total revenues in H1 2017 by both hotels reached 21.615 million euros, up from 17.813 million from the corresponding period of 2016. The group's revenues stood at 27.449 million euros, up from 22.525 million euros in H1 2016, an increase of 21.9 percent.
After-tax profits for the parent company during the same period reached 2.397 million euros, up from 1.204 million euros in H1 2016. The group's after-tax profits reached 3.273 million euros, significantly improving the 0.416 million-euro figure from H1 2016.
The Lampsa group also runs the Hyatt Belgrade and Belgrade Excelsior, as well as holding a 50-percent stake in the Sheraton Rhodes.
