Novo Banco continues to recover debts from sour loans

 In Banks, Insolvencies, News

Novo Banco is continuing to recover money from Invesfundo III which pertained to a failed Espírito Santo Group (GES) project in Gaia, Porto.

It has now received 25% of the €58 million that it claimed from the real estate fund which had planned a €60 million mega project in Gaia which never got of the drawing board. The company behind the fund applied for insolvency last year leaving Novo Banco owed around €58 million.
However, the bank led by António Ramalho is recovering the debt in dribs and drabs and is about to receive around one-quarter of the money it is claiming from the fund.
After having received €11.1 million, Novo Banco is now preparing to receive a new tranche of money: €3.5 million, in accordance with an offer from the insolvency administrator for the fund, Bruno Costa Pereira.
Invesfundo III was set up in 2006 by GES for the development of Douro Atlantic Garden in Gaia which was being developed by Espírito Santo Property and financed 100% by BES.
The Douro Atlantic Garden was to have been built on parcels of land on which the Marés Vivas music festival has been held over the past two years. The land was put up for sale for €38.7 million in the autumn of 2020.
However, after the plans for the large housing, services and commercial project were unveiled in 2013, it never got off the ground on the collapse of Espírito Santo group in 2014, leaving a trail of debts which were inherited by Novo Banco.
After declaring bankruptcy in June 2020, Bruno Costa Pereira began to sell off the properties held by the fund.
These sales enabled €14.6 million to be recovered, almost 25% of the total amount which the bank says it is owed.
Repayments were made in March, June, August and now in September.