WSJ: Goldman abandons Greek hotel investments
Goldman Sachs has sold three seaside resorts it bought in northern Greece in 2022 at a low price, barely breaking even on the roughly €100 million it had invested in the project, according to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday which cited people familiar with the matter.
The company also pulled the plug on its plans for a hotel brand in the region, the people said.
Goldman’s goal in Greece was to use mostly client money and financing to drive up the hotels’ value, then book big profits when they were sold, the WSJ report said. All the while, Goldman would collect management fees from clients whose money was invested.
About a year later, it became clear that the renovations required would cost far more than the firm had expected, while delays with permits, construction and engineering becoming a concern. While the original plan had been to invest between about 150 and 200 million euros, the costs for construction materials and labor increased, eating into the investment’s projected returns.
The firm eventually sold the hotels in the spring to Sani/Ikos Group, completely pulled out from hotel investments in the country, with the exception of a minority stake in real-estate investment company Prodea.