Rene Benko files for sole trader insolvency after Signa collapse

Rene Benko, the fallen property tycoon whose Signa empire toppled in a series of high-profile insolvencies, has filed for insolvency himself at an Austrian court, a court spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

Benko lodged his application for sole trader insolvency with a regional court in Innsbruck, the spokesperson said, confirming a report in Austria's APA news agency.

This would allow Benko to apply for reorganisation proceedings, unlike filing for personal bankruptcy.

The Austrian entrepreneur — owner of New York's Chrysler Building and Britain's Selfridges department store — has been a major figure in Europe's property industry for more than two decades.

In November, Signa Holding, the real estate empire founded by Benko, declared insolvency, followed by other parts of the business, in the biggest casualty so far of the woes afflicting Europe's property sector.

The office of Austria's financial procurator, which acts as an attorney for the state, filed insolvency proceedings against Benko as an individual entrepreneur in January, citing two million euros ($2.18 million) in unpaid taxes.