Vast swaths of land – most of which contains large buildings belonging to the now-defunct Orphanides Supermarkets and the Pancyprian Company of Bakers (PCB) – are to go under the hammer.

Administrator notices on the auction have appeared in Friday’s newspapers, stating that six Orphanides properties and two belonging to the PCB would be auctioned. The Orphanides properties are situated in Aradippou’s industrial area, Polis Chrysochous, Dromolaxia, Pyla, Larnaca and Paphos.

It took three years for creditors to appoint liquidators in September 2015 after Orphanides, once a popular chain of supermarkets, folded. Although there have been squabbles amongst the creditors as to exactly how much debt Orphanides racked up, it has been been hovering around the €121.8 million.

Among Orphanides’ creditors are Bank of Cyprus and Piraeus Bank.

The PCB properties are situated in Kokkinotrimithia industrial area and Ypsonas.

The PCB – one of the largest manufacturers of bakery and confectionery products in Cyprus – went bankrupt in 2014 leading to 130 people losing their jobs. The company had been placed under administration in July 2014 due to financial problems and finally the administrator ordered its liquidation.

The company faced serious cash flow problems in the last period which deteriorated after the 2013 restructuring of the island’s banking sector and the cut on deposits. This left the employees being left unpaid for several months.

PCB was founded in 1970 on the initiative of the government and in a joint-effort with several bakers with the aim to promote industrial modernisation in the production of bakery products.