Orco sells the Warsaw project by Libeskind for 1.75 billion CZK

Prague - The Czech-Luxembourg development company Orco Property Group has agreed to sell its Warsaw project Zlota 44 for 63 million euros (approximately 1.75 billion CZK). The under-construction project of a high-rise building in the center of Warsaw will be taken over by the consortium's division of AMSTAR and BBI Development. The company announced this today.
    The Zlota 44 skyscraper was designed by the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. According to Reuters, it is one of the most prestigious buildings in the Polish capital. However, the project significantly contributed to the high loss that Orco reported for the last year.
    The net loss of the company deepened to 227 million euros last year from 42 million euros the previous year. In the first quarter of this year, the company incurred an additional loss of 54.4 million euros.
    Orco announced today that it will withdraw its shares from the Prague Stock Exchange in September. The share price rose by more than two percent during today’s trading and closed at 11.95 CZK. However, it has fallen by more than 80% over the past year and currently represents only a fraction of the record 3802 CZK from February 2007.
    Orco primarily operates in Prague, Berlin, Warsaw, and Budapest. In the Czech capital, the main planned project of the company is the development of the area around the former train station in Bubny. This year, entrepreneur Radovan Vítek became the largest shareholder of Orco. He owns over 30% of the shares and effectively controls the company.