New job

Ex-Benko man Stadlhuber docks at “Mini-Dubai”

Ex-Signa managing director Stadlhuber in front of the concrete skeleton called "Lamarr"(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

Christoph Stadlhuber, Managing Director and Vienna-based Signa Holding for twelve years, has a new job: he has come on board at the Sonnenweiher project in Grafenwörth, which became known throughout Austria as "Mini-Dubai".

The "Krone" first reported on the property speculation of the then Mayor of Grafenwörth and President of the Association of Municipalities, Alfred Riedl, back in 2021. In 2023, the project then made headlines beyond the borders of Lower Austria as a "mini Dubai" or "Dubai in the Weinviertel": At the so-called Sonnenweiher, which was sold to a property developer in 2019 and is currently also being co-developed by Niederösterreichische Versicherung, 207 houses and semi-detached houses are being built around an artificial foil lake. On a greenfield site, despite the climate crisis. Riedl has also earned a lot of money thanks to rezoning, and he has lost his position in the Association of Municipalities.

Farewell without regrets
Christoph Stadlhuber, who headed the now insolvent Signa Holding for twelve years, is now also involved in this controversial project. It was only at the beginning of June that René Benko's former Vienna-based administrator made an unconventional social media post with a lot of self-praise, bidding farewell to the bankrupt company and becoming self-employed - without mentioning the financial juggler and Signa inventor himself. Just a few hours later, the 57-year-old was already working for the Sonnenweiher project. This emerges from documents available to the "Krone" and "News".

Excerpt from the fee note to the subsidiary of Niederösterreichische Versicherung(Bild: zVg)

Specifically, Stadlhuber works for NV IT und Projektentwicklung GmbH, a subsidiary of Niederösterreichische Versicherung. As a consultant, he is responsible for project budgets, sales documents, marketing and strategy, among other things. According to a statement of fees, NV IT und Projektentwicklung GmbH was invoiced EUR 19,800 for these services in June.

Broad network
As the former head of the state-owned Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG), Stadlhuber has a broad network that extends into politics, which René Benko also knew how to use. Together with a so-called Signa hunt coordinator, the holding manager managed the invitation lists for the major Signa hunts in Burgenland and Styria.

Two years ago, a board member of Niederösterreichische Versicherung was also on one of these invitation lists. He was invited to a "hide hunt for red deer (3 stags)" in the Stüblergut hunting ground in the Styrian forests.