Berengaria sees hope on the horizon

Local media reported on Thursday that investors have been found for a potential revival of the historic Berengaria, with rumours pointing to renovation plans for the abandoned property in the Troodos Mountains.

According to Philenews, Gordian Holdings, an investor group active in Greece and Cyprus, has reached an agreement with Planetvision and other foreign investors who want to buy and renovate the hotel in Prodromos.

Planetvision is also involved in an upcoming luxurious Sofitel brand in Limassol, expected to open in 2022. According to the same sources, the famous French hotel chain is likely to be involved in the Berengaria project.

Berengaria, nestled in the island’s highest mountain range covering 26,520 square metres, went up for auction two years ago but remained unsold due to bidders failing to meet the reserve price of €2,360,000 million.

The Bank of Cyprus, which owns the property, had failed to sell Berengaria despite rumoured investment interests from Germany which were rekindling hope for the hotel and local tourism in the area.

But reports suggested the Bank managed to offload Berengaria when it completed a sale of a non-performing loan portfolio to a US private equity firm, Apollo Global Management.

The Bank had announced the first stage of the deal two years ago, dubbed Project Helix, seeking to sell a nearly €3 billion loan for just over a third of the price.