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Press and Case Studies

Press

Read some of our recent press at the links below

Case studies

A Greek Property Delight! Happy Greek Ending

Miss B approached the bank last year to help finance her self build property on the beautiful Greek island of Meganisi. Building your own property can be challenging at the best of times and even more so when this is in a foreign country. We discussed with Miss B the financing options available in order that her loan was structured in the best way to suit her needs. Miss B had the advantage that her parents already live in Meganisi and had undertaken a similar self build project themselves, so she was able to get personal recommendations for good builders and architects etc. The property was successfully completed in early 2007 with the final value being much greater than anticipated. The project was such a success that Miss B is now investigating purchasing another plot in Greece for a similar self build project.

A Bulgarian Love Affair

Back in 2005 and at the start of the Bulgarian real estate boom, Mr W, a Banker by profession, was recommended to us by one of Bulgaria's leading real estate companies. He was looking for a mortgage to assist with the purchase of an apartment in the Bulgarian costal resort of Bourgas. Piraeus Bank UK quickly and efficiently approved the loan and helped him through the process. This process unfortunately did not run as smoothly as it possibly could have due to some problems that Mr W had with his Bulgarian solicitor. After some frustration, Mr W appointed an alternative solicitor known to the Bank and the loan was subsequently drawn down. Mr W has gone from strength to strength since purchasing his first investment property in Bulgaria and recently approached us in connection with both development finance out of our bank in Bulgaria and for the provision of mortgages for the buyers of a small residential development he is now constructing in Bulgaria.

UK Pot of Gold

Mr C is from a shipping background and bought his first investment property in London in the mid 1970's. Since then he has continued to invest in real estate and with great success. His business model is to invest in Central London properties, refurbishing them to a very high specification. Mr C was referred to us by a colleague in our Greek branch network and from the outset of our relationship he stressed that the customer's requirements included first class service with particular focus on flexibility and speed of response. Our Personal Banking team have managed to exceed his expectations and have subsequently worked with Mr C on a number of successful London projects.

UK Happy Ending

Mr D was introduced to us from our Yacht and Sail Finance division in Athens. He is a high net worth individual with a background in the film industry. Mr D identified an investment property in one of the most prestigious central London locations. We worked closely with Mr D to ensure that the loan be drawn–down in what was a very challenging time scale. Unfortunately, all was not as it seemed and on closer examination, what originally seemed like a bargain was far from it. A number of issues were identified that would have a severe impact on the future marketability of this property and after much discussions with the bank, Mr D decided not to proceed. He was disappointed that the sale had fallen through but thanked us for our timely communications and the fact that he has been protected from purchasing a property that would have been difficult if not impossible to sell. Since then Piraeus Bank Real Estate Finance Division has worked with him to agree finance for a development of a multi million Euro luxury boutique hotel on a picturesque Greek island.

Indicative FX rates

Last updated 23/07/08 9:00pm

We buy at:

UK £1 = €1.2670 EU

We sell at:

UK £1 = €1.2799 EU

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