Estonia, Financial Services, History, Legislation, Real Estate

"There has been interest in purchasing the Maardu manor, but it seems that the level of two million euros was not right to reach the deal. We are still interested in selling the Maardu manor because the central bank uses the complex rarely and therefore the manor is not in line with the principle of an efficient organization," governor of the Bank of Estonia Ardo Hansson said in a press release.

The bank put the manor complex on sale in February 2015. The central bank considered various ways of using the Maardu property more profitably. However, most scenarios called for investments and serious commitment on the part of the owner. For the central bank, development of the manor is not a core responsibility.

An earlier obstacle to the sale of the Maardu manor was that it stood on unreformed state land, which means it was a movable property that could not be sold. The Bank of Estonia started the process of registration in fall 2013 and completed it in January 2015.

The central bank discussed the Maardu manor with the Finance Ministry and the state real estate management company RKAS, but it turned out that the state was not interested in acquiring the property.

The Bank of Estonia bought the Maardu manor in 1993 and carried out a thorough renovation in following years.

After selling the Maardu manor, the central bank will only own the buildings in Estonia Puiestee in downtown Tallinn.