How the factory in Agios Stefanos returned to Nikas

By George Lampiris

For the people of Jerusalem, the recapture of the factory in Agios Stefanos by Spyros Theodoropoulos and Nikas was a matter of time. The businessman was in discussions for a significant period of time in this direction, in order for the company to regain the asset it had lost in 2016 by signing the consolidation agreement with the creditor banks.

In particular, the consolidation agreement signed with the banks by Givenrise Investments Limited, a company that is a major shareholder of Nika, provided for the transfer of the property, which had been transferred to Alpha Bank, with the aim of writing off debts of 17 million. euro. In fact, there were many scenarios that were heard from time to time for Nikas, including the relocation to the Lamia factory, owned by Chipita.

Rent 500 thousand euros from Nikas on an annual basis

The final signatures for the repurchase of the property fell in December, when the company proceeded to conclude its final agreement with the three banks, acquiring all the shares of Kefalari GDP, an interest company of Alpha Bank, Eurobank and Attica Bank, which managed the property. According to information, the lease agreement, which was renewed for one year, on December 30, 2020, and expired at the end of this year, was intended to give further time for the completion of the final negotiations regarding the acquisition of the property by Nikas. This is a property, for which Alpha Bank, after the last adjustment made based on the appraisal of the property, received on an annual basis from Nikas, an amount of a total amount of 500 thousand euros. The monthly rent paid by the meat industry was in the order of 41.66 thousand euros.

All the scenarios that saw either the sale of the factory by the banks to third parties or the possibility of relocation of Nika to another factory were refuted, in order to finally confirm the prevalence of those that everyone in Nikas knew in one way or another. That is, the company would buy again the factory of Agios Stefanos, which houses its offices and production facilities from Alpha Bank, Eurobank and Attica Bank, from which it leased it until recently. Until now, the three banks were shareholders in the Alpha Investment Property Company of Kefalari, the majority of whose shares before its acquisition by Nikas belonged to Alpha Bank with 54.17%, Eurobank with 41.67% and Attica Bank with 4 , 16%.

Investments in production “witness” the factory’s repurchase intentions

Indicative of the specific development regarding the recovery of the factory, is the fact that Nikas had invested 5.7 million euros in 2020 in the production facilities of Agios Stefanos, while the investment moves to improve production and duration are ongoing. of 2021, despite the fact that it had not yet signed the final agreement with the banks.