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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt HSBC MALTA FUNDS SICAV p.l.c. NOTICE FOR PUBLIC TENDER HSBC Malta Funds SICAV p.l.c. announces an Invitation to Tender for the appointment of an independent external auditor. Interested parties are invited to submit a financially and technically competitive tender which complies with the requirements set out in the tender document. Interested parties may obtain the corresponding tender document by sending an email to this effect on hgam@hsbc.com. Completed tenders, together with all necessary supporting documentation, are to be received by no later than 5th December 2024. HSBC MALTA FUNDS SICAV p.l.c., 171, Old Bakery Street, Valletta VLT 1455, Malta. Registered in Malta number SV 2. Registered Office: 171, Old Bakery Street, Valletta VLT 1455, Malta. HSBC MALTA FUNDS SICAV p.l.c. is an open- ended collective investment scheme organised as a multi-fund limited liability company with variable share capital registered under the Laws of Malta and licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority in terms of the Investment Services Act (Chapter 370, Laws of Malta). The Company qualifies as a 'Maltese UCITS' in terms of the Investment Services Act (Marketing of UCITS) Regulations (S.L. 370.18, Laws of Malta). Ittra ta' Intenzjoni Community Centered Care Ltd (3Cmalta) tiddikjara l-intenzjoni li l- kumpanija tirreġistra għal Liċenzja tal-Aġenzija tal-Impjieg skont L.N. 270 tal-2023 ATT DWAR RELAZZJONIJIET INDUSTRIJALI W L-IMPIJIEG (KAP.452) Regolamenti tal-2023 dwar l-Aġenziji tal-Impjiegi. 1. Servizzi ta' xogħol temporanju jinvolvu l-provvista ta' ħaddiema lil terzi persuni. 2. Il-parti terza tassenja xoghol/kompiti lill-ħaddiema temporanji. 3. Is-servizzi ta Outsourcing jinvolvu l-provvista ta' ħaddiema lil parti terza. 4. L-aġenzija ta Outsourcing , inklużi l-kuntratturi u s-sottokuntratturi, tissorvelja, tidderieġi, u tikkontrolla l-ħaddiema. Indirizz Uffiċjali Reġistrat: 3CMalta, The Brewhouse, Level 0, Mdina Road, Zone 2, Central Business District, Birkirkara CBD 2010 Numru reġistrazzjoni tal-kumpanija: C97990 Court orders independent experts' division of multi-million Testaferrata estate A court has ordered the appoint- ment of an independent expert to reach an impartial partition of a complex property estate worth millions in the ongoing Testa- ferrata Moroni Viani inheritance case. Judge Mark Simiana rejected a valuation and division plan of the extensive property estate of Baron Pietro Paolo Testaferrata Moroni Viani, in a case that pits his heirs against their own cousins, sisters Agnes Gera de Petri Testaferra- ta Bonici Ghaxaq, Caren Preziosi and Anna Maria Spiteri Debono. The plaintiffs – brothers Chris- topher, Martin, and their cousins Peter Paul, Paul Stephen and Car- oline Testaferrata Moroni Viani – are co-owners of several proper- ties of the so-called Primogenituri Testaferrata estate, together with the defendants. The Primogenituri Testaferrata, administered under the name Te- staferrata Moroni Viani Estates, includes lands and buildings in Ta' Xbiex, Msida, Gzira, Mosta, Paola and Żebbiegħ. Pietro Paolo Testaferrata Moroni Viani was survived in 1954 by his four children, but died intestate. In 1950, half of his estate was assigned to his eldest son Salvino, when the law of first-born succession was abrogated. On his death without a will, other half of his estate was inherited by all his four children – Salvino, Mario, Beatrice and Ma- ria – each entitled to a one-eighth share (12.5%) of the estate. The dispute now centres over which parts of the original estate was bequeathed to his successors, with his grandchildren disputing the ownership of several proper- ties. Specifically, there is a dis- pute over the part-ownership of Palazzo Testaferrata in Paola, a 20,000sq.m plot of land in Mosta and a villa on the Ta' Xbiex sea- front, all forming part of the orig- inal estate, and how these should be divided between the parties. Salvino's other siblings have al- so passed away: in 1999, Baron- ess Maria was succeeded by the defendants Agnes, Caren and Annamaria, each taking 12.5% of their mother's €26 million in im- movable properties. Mario died in 2007, survived by children Peter, Paul and Caroline, each inheriting 1/24th of the Pri- mogenituri estate (€20 million). Salvino died in 2017, survived by sons Christopher and Martin, who own the lion's share of the original estate (€90 million). The Salvi- no heirs also inherited a further 1/24th of the original estate after the death of their aunt Beatrice in 2007, and a one-eighth share in the Paola palazzo. Beatrice also bequeathed Mario's heirs a 1/48th share of the original estate, but designated nieces Agnes, Caren and Annamaria as her universal heirs thereafter. But there is a disagreement over the apportionment of Beatrice's share in the estate. In a bid to pro- pose a plan for their division and avoid further fragmentation, the children of the late Salvino and Mario Testaferrata Moroni Viani, engaged an architect to value the estate. While the plaintiffs claim Gera de Petri refused to consider the di- vision of the estate, the defendant has complained at the "abusive" manner in which the architect's report proposes the division of the estate, because it puts her and her siblings at a disadvantage. Gera de Petri said the valuation plan is designed to unfairly benefit the plaintiffs at her expense, and contends the plan mixes proper- ties with distinct origins, involving parties who lack legitimate owner- ship claims, with some properties listed in the plan already having been legally divided and assigned through prior agreements. Mr Justice Simiana recoganised the defendants' valid objections and the need for a more impartial evaluation, and declined to adopt the division plan proposed by the plaintiffs' expert. The court opted to appoint its own expert to conduct an unbi- ased assessment of the properties and formulate a fair and legally sound division plan. The court also acknowledged the existence and legal standing of the "primogeniture" system, which dictates specific inheritance pat- terns for certain properties. This recognition significantly impacts the division process, as it prioritis- es male heirs in a specific line of descent for designated properties. The court clarified the interpre- tation of the legacies left by Bea- trice Testaferrata Moroni Viani, particularly concerning the prop- erties in the bequest which she believed to be part of the primo- geniture. Pending the independent ex- pert's report, the court suspended its final judgment on the division of the estate. Land historically owned by the Testaferrata Moroni Viani primogenitura The plaintiffs' architect's report valued the lands owned by the three groups of cousins, at a total of €140 million, the lion's share owned by the heirs of Baron Salvi- no Testaferrata Moron Viani. They include territory in Ta' Xbiex and Msida, and land known as l-Andrijiet and Fawwara in Gzira: they include the Empire Stadium, various properties in and around Rue d'Argens, Testa- ferrata Street, Luqa Briffa Street, and pockets of undeveloped land at Ta' Xbiex (worth €30 million alone); Palazzo Testaferrata in Paola, Valletta Road, and undeveloped territory at Blata l-Gholja in Mo- sta; territory at Gnien id-Dwieli at Zebbiegh, Mgarr; a land portion known as 'Ta' Pastizz' or 'ix-Xat- ba' in Gzira; lands 'Ta' Forn il-Gir', 'Lenza tal-Hamra' in Gzira, and 'Balluta' in Sliema; as well as other properties and territory in Gozo. The Empire Stadium in Gzira