Greece in talks to sell renowned resort Astir Palace to Qatar for capital boost
Photo Credit: An aerial view of Astir Palace, located just half an hour away from the historical city centre of Athens and the Acropolis? The Westin Athens
Skift Take
Greece could still enjoy the esteem of hosting celebrities and political influencers while receiving a sizable investment for iconic property; a win-win for the cash-strapped country.
Qatar has held talks with Greece to buy the Astir Palace, a beachfront resort in Athens that twice hosted the Bilderberg conferences of political and business leaders, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
Representatives of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co., part of the Persian Gulf country’s sovereign-wealth fund, discussed the sale with Greek officials and the resort’s owners when Prime Minister Antonis Samaras visited the capital Doha last month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
Greece is striving to attract foreign investment as the economy faces its sixth straight year of contraction and an unemployment rate that reached 27 percent in November. An Astir Palace deal would mark the first sale of a property freehold in the country since the government announced a 50 billion-euro ($67 billion) asset-sale plan in 201
