Sales of Eugensberg Castle by Ginesta Real Estate

State Chancellery, April 21, 2017

The Erb/Sheridan family and the bankruptcy office of the Canton of Thurgau have agreed that the family can remain living in Schloss Eugensberg in Salenstein until the end of August 2017. It was also agreed that various assets worth millions from the Principality of Liechtenstein can be transferred to the bankruptcy estate without complications. In addition to Schloss Eugensberg and other properties, twelve classic cars will also be sold.

According to the decision of the Federal Supreme Court, the Erb/Sheridan family would have had to move out of Schloss Eugensberg in Salenstein on May 1, 2017. The family then expressed the wish to be able to stay in the castle until the children’s planned change of school in August 2017. The Bankruptcy Office of the Canton of Thurgau subsequently reached an agreement with the Erb/Sheridan family in consultation with the creditors’ representatives at the beginning of March 2017, around a month before Rolf Erb’s death, in order to clarify outstanding issues regarding various assets to which the creditors were entitled. In this agreement, the family was granted the right to remain in the castle until the end of the children’s school year and the move into the new apartment, i.e. until August 30, 2017.

Entire castle inventory can be sold

By concluding the agreement with the Erb/Sheridan family, various assets worth millions from the Principality of Liechtenstein can now be easily transferred to the bankruptcy estate, which would otherwise have had to be claimed through complex proceedings due to asset freezes in Liechtenstein. The agreement also means that the entire and complete inventory of the castle is now at the disposal of the creditors and can be sold together with the castle if necessary.

There is a list of interested parties

The long-established Real Estate brokerage firm Ginesta Immobilien, based in Küsnacht, has been commissioned to handle the sales of the historic Eugensberg Castle estate and its associated properties, which cover more than 80 hectares. Through its international marketing partner, Knight Frank, the agency now has the opportunity to reach potential buyers beyond Switzerland’s borders. An extensive list of interested parties has already been compiled. The initial preparatory steps for the Sales have already been taken. Due to the extensive and complex marketing preparations, the Sales of the castle, along with the various other buildings and properties, are not expected to begin before summer 2017. Regarding Villa Wolfensberg in Winterthur, for which there are also already interested parties, consultations are underway with Consulta AG in Rüti to determine what construction is feasible on this property in order to subsequently achieve the best possible Sales of the property.

Realization negotiations are being implemented as planned

The creditors’ representative, attorney Matthias Hotz from Frauenfeld, emphasizes that following the successful court rulings achieved over many years of proceedings, there continues to be very good cooperation between the creditors acting as a whole and the Bankruptcy Office of the Canton of Thurgau. According to Martin Wenk, the responsible head of department at the Bankruptcy Office of the Canton of Thurgau, all liquidation measures can fortunately be implemented as planned in close consultation with the creditors’ representatives.

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