Court Calls on the State to Respond Regarding the Sale of Nama in Central Zagreb

The Commercial Court in Zagreb has called on the state as a secured creditor to respond regarding the sale of the department store and properties of Nama located on Ilica in Zagreb ahead of the creditors’ assembly scheduled for September 18.

By court order, the state has been asked to indicate whether it agrees to the sale of the building, courtyards, garden, and park of Nama at Ilica 4 – 6, as well as the wall at Radićeva Street 1, at a joint public auction, as stated in the conclusion from September 3, which set a three-day deadline for the state to respond after delivery.

The conclusion follows the scheduling of a creditors’ assembly for Nama d.d. in bankruptcy on September 18, where a decision is expected to be made regarding the sale of the department stores and properties of Nama on Ilica, as well as at Kvaternik Square.

The sale was initiated after the Commercial Court in Zagreb determined in December last year, more than 23 years after the opening of Nama’s bankruptcy, that the request from Croatia Osiguranje for a trial within a reasonable time was justified, and ordered a decision to be made regarding the sale of Nama’s buildings on Ilica and Kvaternik Square by September 2024.

In the shadow of the convening of the creditors’ assembly, the bankruptcy trustee Damir Mikić submitted a report about ten days ago, highlighting that considering the ownership and land registry status of the remaining properties, and that business activities are still being conducted in both department stores with employees being hired,’it would be prudent to make a decision on the sale of the property as a whole.’

Department Store on Ilica Registered as Three Properties

That is, the properties and movables of Nama should be sold together, and the buyer should be obligated to take over the business and stock of goods and the employees found on site for a specified period, and that for a minimum of two years. Given that the ownership and land registry status of the remaining department stores is different, the bankruptcy trustee also believes that both department stores should be sold simultaneously, but in different ways.

The department store at Kvaternik Square is registered in the land registry as one parcel and an object owned by Nama d.d. in bankruptcy, and has no registered encumbrances, while the one on Ilica is registered as three different parcels and three objects, with two parcels (Ilica 4 and Radićeva 1) fully encumbered by the mortgage rights of Croatia Osiguranje d.d. and the state, while on Ilica 6, one part is encumbered by a mortgage, and the other part is not.

The court’s conclusion states that the sale will be conducted through a public court auction in accordance with the bankruptcy law and with the appropriate application of the enforcement law, and the buyer must take over the employees found on site and continue business operations for at least two years.

Interested buyers must pay a deposit amounting to five percent of the initial value of the property to participate in the auction. The starting price will be determined according to the assessment of the court expert for real estate and according to the book value for the equipment of the movables, as stated in the conclusion.