Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533641
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 MARCH 2025 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt HSBC Bank Malta to share confidential information with prospective buyers Corinthia Attard drops plans for two additional floors Company will focus on upgrading the existing hotel, CEO tells MaltaToday In a company statement HSBC Bank Malta says it has set up a virtual data room to securely share information with its majority shareholder, that wants to sell, and prospective buyers THE Corinthia Palace Hotel Company has abandoned plans to add two receded floors to its existing four-storey hotel in At- tard. The additional storeys would have accommodated an addi- tional 40 rooms. The withdrawal of the applica- tion was confirmed by company CEO Simon Naudi when con- tacted by MaltaToday. "We have decided to focus our investment efforts on the Corin- thia Palace's current inventory, where we will continue to invest and upgrade our amenities and product," Naudi said. An outline application envi- sioning the two additional floors was submitted last year. Subse- quently, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage requested photomontages to better assess the impact of the proposal. Last year, Naudi told Malta- Today that "any future develop- ment will be made in full com- pliance with zoning laws and sensitivities" and "in a manner that complements and enhanc- es the visual appearance of the property." The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage had already is- sued its clearance for the devel- opment, excluding any negative impact on the cultural heritage. However, more than 30 indi- viduals, including the Balzan and Attard local councils, ob- jected, fearing a negative impact on the skyline. The local plans approved in 2006 allow the extension of the hotel, provided several condi- tions are met. One of these conditions is that the scale and quality of the de- sign must be consistent with the character of the area and the existing building, and that the proposed extension does not exceed the height of the current hotel. However, in 2014, the Planning Authority introduced a new pol- icy allowing hotels to rise two storeys above local plan limits. In fact, the Malta Tourism Au- thority had immediately deemed the hotel eligible for the applica- tion of this policy. Currently, the Corinthia Pal- ace offers just 130 rooms, which, according to Naudi, places it among the smaller operations at the top end of Malta's five-star market. Characterised by its extensive gardens near San Anton Gar- dens, the hotel was inaugurated in 1968 by the Duke of Edin- burgh. Originally starting out as a restaurant in 1962, it is still de- scribed by the company as its "spiritual home." The Corinthia Palace currently offers just 130 rooms JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt HSBC Malta has set up a vir- tual data room to share infor- mation "securely and in confi- dence" about its operations as the bank's potential sale enters a new phase. In a company statement pub- lished on Tuesday, HSBC Malta said it is in the process of sign- ing confidentiality agreements with a number of prospective offerors. A confidentiality agreement has already been signed with HSBC Continental Europe, the majority shareholder that wants to sell its 70% stake in the Mal- tese operation. What is significant about this statement is that the bank has used the words "prospective offerors", indicating more than one interested party. So far, it is public knowledge that the Mal- tese bank APS is interested in acquiring this shareholding. "HSBC Holdings plc has in- formed HSBC Malta that there is no preferred offeror and that the process remains at an ear- ly stage," the bank statement reads. The creation of the virtual da- ta room and the signing of the confidential agreements will allow HSBC Bank Malta to fur- nish information in confidence so that prospective buyers can conduct due diligence on the bank. The information will also be shared with its major share- holder, HSBC Continental Eu- rope. At an extraordinary general meeting of HSBC Bank Malta held on 13 February, sharehold- ers approved an ordinary reso- lution relating to disclosure of information in connection with the potential sale. Any potential transaction would require regulatory ap- proval from both the MFSA and the European Central Bank, a process that would be expect- ed to take several months from entry into any binding agree- ment. The rest of HSBC's sharehold- ing is held by a multitude of mi- nor shareholders. In November last year, APS Bank confirmed it submitted a non-binding offer to HS- BC Holdings to acquire the 70% stake it holds in the Malta branch. The offer was not dis- closed. Earlier this month, APS Bank reiterated its interest in scaling up its operations by acquiring HSBC, adding the process was ongoing.