Lamda Development CEO: Pre-sale agreements for residences at Helleniko already total 700bln euros

The head of Lamda Development on Thursday said pre-sale contracts for upscale residences at the Helleniko site in coastal southeast Athens have already reached a total of 700 million euros.

The ATHEX-listed property developer’s CEO, Odysseas Athanasiou, speaking at an investment event, referred to an “unparalleled” success in terms of pre-sales, while putting the target by the end of the year at 1.2 billion euros.

The landmark privatization was finalized last month with the signing of a concession agreement between a Lamda subsidiary and the Greek state,  witnessing shares for the approximately 700 hectares of prime real estate transferred to the latter, and more than 600 million euros in cash and a letter of guarantee funneled into state coffers.

The Metropolitan Helleniko-Aghios Kosmas site, as the tract of land is officially called, includes the site where the former Athens airport operated in the second half of the 20th century, along with auxiliary facilities, disused military airbases, hangars, runways and even outdoor facilities for the 2004 Olympic Games.

The seminar was organized by Goldman Sachs and Greece’s four systemic banks.

In terms of a timetable, Athanasiou referred to commencement in the construction of infrastructure in the first half of 2022, followed by buildings in the second half. Additionally, he put expressions of interest by retailers in the foreseen Vouliagmenis Mall at 60 percent of projected capacity, “even before the official presentation of the plans”.

Finally, he said Lamda Development’s net asset value (NAV) by 2025 will reach three billion euros, essentially tripling within a five-year period.