MIDI offloads more assets to Panama-owned company as bond deadline looms

MIDI plc has signed yet another promise-of-sale agreement, divesting additional assets as it races to secure funds to repay a €50 million bond maturing in July.

In a company announcement, MIDI confirmed that it has agreed to sell the still-unfinished T15 building at Tigné Point – the last remaining block in the original Tigné master plan – for €5.5 million. If finalised, the agreement is expected to be concluded just weeks before the bond repayment falls due. The company said the proceeds will be used to settle part of the outstanding debt.

The prospective buyer is The 540 Hub Ltd, a company registered only weeks ago. It is owned by a Panama-registered entity, Echelon Investments Ltd S.A., according to the Malta Business Registry.

The Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) of the Panama company remains undisclosed. MIDI did not reply to The Shift’s questions about who would ultimately own the building if the deal goes through.

Registry records show that The 540 Hub Ltd lists among its directors Russian-born Zamir Magomedovich Abdullaev, described in corporate filings as an oil trader who acquired Maltese citizenship.

The T15 disposal forms part of a broader pattern of asset sales by MIDI as it grapples with mounting financial pressures.

The publicly listed developer, which was granted a 99-year concession in the Tigné Point and Manoel Island deal in 2000, has acknowledged that without additional capital, it would be unable to redeem its €50 million bond.

Just weeks ago, MIDI announced another controversial promise-of-sale agreement, transferring the remaining years of the concession involving the historic Fort Tigné to Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli for €2.5 million (roughly the price of two apartments within its own development).

Following public uproar, the government insisted it would not allow the sale to proceed and said it would seek to take over the fort as part of ongoing compensation negotiations aimed at regaining possession of Manoel Island.

Meanwhile, MIDI remains locked in negotiations with the government over the future of Manoel Island, which the administration has said it intends to reclaim and convert into a national park, citing alleged breaches of concession terms.

With the bond maturity fast approaching and no bailout secured, the continued offloading of assets underscores MIDI’s financial distress and deepens uncertainty for bondholders and investors.

MIDI also failed to answer The Shift’s questions on the status of its ongoing discussions with the government.