A total of 215 apartments overlooking the Koper bay were sold at just over half the asking price in a Dutch auction; the bankruptcy administrator Jožef Patty initially set the price at EUR 41.4m.

The move comes after BAMC already invested EUR 2m to buy over 10,000 square metres of land in Ljubljana city centre in March.

The Nocturno apartments, initially valued at some EUR 57m, belonged to GPG, which announced receivership in April 2011.

The vacant neighbourhood, once advertised an oasis of piece and luxury, has been guarded since GPG went bankrupt in order to prevent desperate creditors from robbing it.

The operation is a result of the bank's creditor position to GPG, as BAMC assumed over EUR 70m in claims to the bankrupt builder as part of the bank bailout.

According to BAMC, they traded the GPG claims for property rights by taking part in the auction.

Now, the BAMC will repair the construction flaws and prepare the legal basis for selling apartments off piece by piece, which has not been possible until now.

According to the bad bank, the Koper housing fund has already expressed interest in buying several apartments. They are also considering renting.

The sale will be spread over several years.