Greece sold four properties outside the country, including the UK consul’s residence in London, as the government raises money to pay its debts.
The townhouse in London’s Holland Park neighborhood was sold for 23.3 million pounds ($35.2 million), the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund said in an e-mailed statement late Wednesday. A property in Nicosia, Cyprus, fetched 8.3 million euros and real estate in Brussels and Belgrade was sold for a combined 5.3 million euros.
Greece has pledged to generate 11.1 billion euros from asset deals by 2016. Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said in January that property transactions rather than budget cuts should be used to improve Greece’s balance sheet. Real estate makes up about 75 percent of the state’s assets.
The sales process for one property in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and another in Ljubljana, Slovenia, will start within 15 days, according to the statement. [Bloomberg]