Hotel Partizan in Niska Banja seeking purchaser – Initial price at around EUR 2.5 million

(Illustration) Hotel Partizan in Niska Banja is looking for a new owner once again.

The Nis branch office of the Tax Administration has advertised the sale of the real estate of the tax debtor Redwood from Ruma as part of the process of enforced collection of public revenues, and the building at 11 Republic Square is therefore being sold at the initial price of around RSD 310 million (EUR 2.5 million).

Let us remind that Redwood is owned by businessman Srba Ilic.

Hotel Partizan, along with Hotel Ozren, was sold to Srbija Turist, owned by this American businessman born in Nis. The hotels have been closed since the privatization.

In 2014, Ilic sold the hotels Ozren and Partizan to his own Ruma-based company, but the Tax Administration placed both hotels under mortgage due to tax evasion.

The president of the Municipality of Niska Banja, Dejan Jovanovic, says for eKapija that they are in contact with potential investors and that there are interested parties, but that the general opinion among the potential purchasers of Hotel Partizan is that the price is too high.

– This is not a realistic price for the hotel in Niska Banja. Hotel Ambasador in the center of Nis was sold for around a million euros, and it won't be surprising if no one responds to the first ad. There's a much bigger chance of someone responding in the second round, after the price is lowered by 30% – Jovanovic says.

The sale of Hotel Ozren will be advertised in March, immediately after the completion of the hearing for the sale of Hotel Partizan, because, as our interviewee explains, the simultaneous sale of both hotels is not possible because of the possibility of the received funds exceeding the tax debt.

– We have been preparing the paperwork for a year and both hotels are fully prepared for an auction now. The sale of Hotel Ozren will be advertised in March, and if there are no purchasers for Partizan in the first auction, a new sale will be organized in April. The development of the hotel would take around a month and it would therefore become profitable for the potential purchaser as soon as 2019 – Jovanovic points out and notes that May is the peak season for school trips, many of which have Niska Banja as the destination.

The new hotel in the municipality, according to him, is of great importance for school, recreational and congress tourism.

– We have around 400 beds in hotels and as many within private accommodation capacities in Niska Banja, and we need a bigger hotel, which would also boost the development of smaller accommodation capacities – our interviewee adds.

At the first hearing for the sale of Hotel Partizan, scheduled for February 28, the selling price cannot amount to less than 75% of the initial value, and the sale is to be carried out through oral public bidding.