Cromwell Property Group is preparing to sell a troublesome Polish mall portfolio for about $520 million – at a 21 per cent discount to its previous book value – in an effort to bolster a balance sheet hit with hefty write-downs.

The malls portfolio, which Cromwell has held on its balance sheet in the hope of creating a European-based property fund, contributed a large part of the $491.6 million overall write-down which the Brisbane fund manager reported. That in turn sent Cromwell’s 2023 financial year accounts heavily into the red, with a statutory net loss of $443.8 million.