(Bloomberg) -- Embattled German landlord Adler Group SA has asked its bondholders for permission to sell an unfinished apartment development at a 47% discount to its 2022 valuation, as the company races to repay its vast debt load. 

The real estate firm aims to sell a project known as Cologne Apart for €44 million ($48 million), according to documents seen by Bloomberg News. That is 37% less than the price valuers estimated on June 30 last year and 47% lower than its valuation in June 2022. 

It’s at least the second time Adler has sought creditors’ approval to sell the development, after initially securing their blessing for a €50 million sale last year. The price slipped after protracted negotiations. 

The sale seeks to reduce the risk of Adler having to stump up even more money for the project and the perils of being “held liable for potential environmental damages, remedial measures and the like,” Adler told bondholders in a letter. 

A spokesperson for Adler did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. 

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A UK court derailed its restructuring plan earlier this year, putting even more pressure on the landlord to sell assets at a favorable price. Adler has sold more than 30,000 apartments since short seller Viceroy Research accused it of fraud more than two years ago — allegations the firm has strongly rejected.

The deals, along with the partial sale of a subsidiary, cut its portfolio by more than half, but the proceeds made only a small dent in its debt.

As part of Adler’s debt restructuring plan and injection of new funds, investors demanded authority to approve any future asset sales — and said they wanted a say in what is and isn’t sold and at what price. The firm’s creditors can vote against any such transactions if they deem the price too low, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Bloomberg News. 

The majority of bondholders have so far approved the sales.

The latest planned asset sale comes after Adler asked for consent in November for a series of disposals, when it expected to sell the Cologne property for €50 million, the document said. It also sought to sell its Grand Central project for €80 million at the time, a 45% discount to its June 2022 valuation and a 30% haircut from the same month last year. It also sought permission at the time to sell the Riverside project for €17 million, a 25% discount to its June valuation.

Creditors have until April 9 to approve the sale of the Cologne development.

Growing Pressure

The company, which is scheduled to report its earnings next month, is under growing pressure to execute deals in the face of falling German apartment prices and a looming maturity wall next year. 

Progress on major sales has been slow, with potential buyers well aware of the pressure the company is under, while its loan-to-value ratio has climbed to almost 90% — giving it little wiggle room for further writedowns or discounted sales.

The company marked down the value of its properties by 8.4% in the first half of last year, a figure that was in part cushioned by a 2.4% increase in its rents. 

The company has about €400 million of debt maturing this year and almost €2.2 billion due in 2025 including the new money facility it received under the restructuring, according to a presentation for its third-quarter results. In total it has €6.5 billion of debt outstanding. 

--With assistance from Christine Maurus.

(Updates with writedowns, maturities in the last two paragraphs.)

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