Court orders forced sale of government-leased Millennia Building in Marsa

Different government organisations, including branches of two ministries, might soon be looking for new quarters as the building they have been renting out for years in Marsa is to be put up for forced sale.

The government departments occupying the Millennia Building on Aldo Moro Road have been occupying most of the privately-held building’s four floors for years.

Even though the government organisations knew of a pending court case between HSBC, no arrangements have yet been made to find alternative premises.

The Millennia Building, which has been valued at almost €9 million by court experts, is owned by the Mizzi Group.

The whole building, which hosts dozens of government employees, has been occupied on long lease agreements by the Ministry for Home Affairs and the Ministry for the Economy, among others.

Government employees working at the building told The Shift that the government has been aware of the problems between the bank and the building’s owners for years. However, no alternative arrangements have been made despite the case’s long duration.

A final decision was taken by the Court of Appeal last year and the forced sale of the building is expected to be carried out in the coming days.

According to court documents, the issue dates back to 2008 and HSBC argued that a constitution of debt agreement had never been honoured by its debtors.

This article has been updated to better reflect certain points of law.