OREANDA-NEWS. The Eesti Pank executive board has decided to put the Maardu manor estate up for sale at a starting price of two million euros. The real estate company Colliers International Advisors O? has been chosen as adviser and manager for the deal.

“Owning the Maardu manor property does not fit with the principles of an efficient organisation, as Eesti Pank only uses the property rarely. I am certain that a private company will be able to put the manor house to better use. We also used our buildings in Kuressaare only rarely, but the Arensburg Hotel has made a success of its operations there and has created extra jobs in Saaremaa”, said the Governor of Eesti Pank, Ardo Hansson.

Eesti Pank considered various ways of using Maardu manor more profitably. One option was to look for a long-term tenant, another was to rent the manor house out more often. In both these cases the owner would have needed to make major investments to turn Maardu manor into a fully-furbished centre for tourism or training events. However, Eesti Pank does not have the skills needed to develop the manor properly and doing so is not one of the core responsibilities of a central bank.

An earlier obstacle to the sale of Maardu manor was that it stood on unreformed state land and could not be sold. Eesti Pank started the process of registration for this in autumn 2013 and it was completed in January 2015.

The central bank discussed Maardu manor with the Ministry of Finance and the national property office, but it became clear that the state had no interest in buying the property.

Eesti Pank took tenders from four real estate companies to find an adviser for the sale of the manor property. The lowest bid came from Colliers International Advisors, who will receive a fee of 9950 euros for successfully completing the sale.

Eesti Pank bought the Maardu manor property in 1993 for 320,000 euros.

In autumn 2013 Eesti Pank sold a property with two buildings in Kuressaare for 550,000 euros to Arensburg O?, which runs the Arensburg Hotel near to the central bank property. After selling Maardu manor, the central bank will only own the buildings at Estonia puiestee in Tallinn.