Property developer and businessman Joseph Portelli is set to exit CF Estates, a publicly listed company in which he currently has a 30 per cent shareholding.
In a company announcement released on Tuesday (today), CF Estates Finance plc, the financing arm of the group, said Mr Portelli would receive around €6.65 million for his stake, which will be taken up in full by the other four shareholders – Stephen Falzon, Clifton Cassar, Duncan Micallef and Frank Agius.
L-R: Joseph Portelli, Stephen Falzon, Clifton Cassar, Duncan Micallef, Frank Agius
The sum, the company said, reflects 30 per cent of the enterprise value of CF Estates as at 30th September 2025.
The exit will be effected through a reduction in share capital, with the remaining shareholders promising bondholders that the enterprise value paid out to Mr Portelli will be replenished as soon as practicable following his exit, safeguarding the company’s capital position.
CF Estates has confirmed that it will keep the company and the market informed as the capital reduction process is completed, allowing for further updates once the transaction is finalised.
The group has a number of property and hospitality investments, including the Levante Hotel, Scirocco Hotel, and Mistral Hotel, as well as the CF Business Centre, all in St Julian's.
Residential projects undertaken by the group include the Mayfair residences in Attard, the Macael Apartments in Paola, the Sunrise Corner in Swatar, and also the Vermont Court in Pietà.
CF Estates is not quite a household name, but several of its proposed projects have made headlines. Mr Portelli, as the developer of Malta's tallest tower (through a different company) and owner of one of Malta's most successful football teams in recent years, Ħamrun Spartans, has much more name-recognition among the public than the other shareholders, and is therefore the one most commonly mentioned in relation to these projects – for better or for worse.
Among the CF Estates projects to make a splash in recent years is the proposed redevelopment of the former Dolphin Complex in Balzan, which hit a brick wall in Court in the face of opposition from residents and NGOs.
CF Estates also attracted controversy when it signed a promise of sale agreement to acquire a complex of garages on the edge of Hope Valley (Wied l-Isperanza) in Mosta.
Less controversially, it also acquired the Mavina Holiday Complex in Qawra from Halmann Vella Group.
CF Estates has a €30 million bond listed on the Malta Stock Exchange that is set to mature in 2033. In 2024, it raised a further €4.9 million through an unlisted zero-coupon note issue – a relative novelty for the Maltese market.
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