According to Jutarnji list, after a full 13 years of bankruptcy agony, the most famous department store in Croatia, Nama, is nearing the end of its bankruptcy proceedings.
Namely, according to its bankruptcy trustee Damir Mikić, this process should be concluded very soon, thus ending the existence of the legendary Nama.
Nama owes its suppliers 105.3 million kuna, with the largest creditor being the state, which is owed 65.7 million kuna in principal that has grown due to interest over 13 years, raising the debt to around 180 million kuna. In just the last four years, it has increased by 30 million kuna because the state, as a secured creditor, does not collect its claims from Nama’s operations, but has a lien on the properties and charges interest while Nama pays its suppliers from its operations.
At the top of the debt list is Croatia osiguranje, whose initial debt of 10.7 million kuna has grown to around thirty million and holds the same creditor status as the state.
The bankruptcy trustee also confirmed that preparations are underway for the sale of Nama’s properties, the department store at the beginning of Zagreb’s Ilica and the one at Kvaternikov trg, the last properties owned by the department store. Their value is estimated at over 400 million kuna, but just three years ago, during the peak of the real estate market crisis, experts warned that such properties could fetch up to 600 million kuna.
The preparation of the properties for sale has also been supported by the board of Nama’s creditors led by Štefica Knezović, a representative of the Ministry of Economy. Many European department stores will surely be interested in such attractive properties, and Jutarnji reports that there is already speculation about the interest of the British department store Debenhams, while five years ago there was bidding with the German department store Peek & Cloppenburg from Düsseldorf.
