The €193 million deal concerns the Mall of Cyprus complex which includes the mall, IKEA, ANNEX three and four, and the mall of Engomi.

There is also a provision for the sale of a plot of land next to the mall of Cyprus for €8 million, Pavlou said, in total the deal reaches around €202 million.

He added the group was to make an announcement next week. “There are still some procedures and some issues that need to be sorted out that we expect to be completed by Thursday or Friday,” Pavlou told the press.

Following the transfer, Nicosia’s two popular shopping malls will be managed by Atterbury, Pavlou said, that runs several malls throughout the world.

Atterbury was founded in 1994 in Pretoria, South Africa and its main focus is on developing retail centres and commercial buildings. It runs malls in South Africa, other African countries and in Europe.

It is thought the sale of these assets aims at further reducing Shacolas Group’s loans and increasing the company’s liquidity. NKS Shacolas Holdings Ltd, was reported last year to be among the Bank of Cyprus’ largest debtors, recorded as owing the bank a total of €315 million.

In 2013 Shacolas sold its investment in MTN Cyprus to the MTN Group and last year sold its investment in CTC-ARI Airports Ltd that operates the retail outlets in Larnaca and Paphos airports, and its shares in Cyprus Airports (F&B) Ltd, that operates the Food and Beverage outlets in the Larnaca and Paphos airports.

According to the group’s latest interim report, turnover for the first quarter of 2015 showed a 3.4% decrease compared to the same period last year, as well as its gross profit, €18,743,000, a 7.3% decrease compared with last year’s equivalent period.

It adds that the Board of Directors and the Management of the Group note that despite some general indications of stabilisation and improvement in the economy, careful management and continuous vigilance are required.

Earlier this year plans were submitted to enlarge the Mall of Cyprus by 5,000 square metres at a cost of €25 million.

Source: Cyprus Mail