Mayfair Eviction Fight Pits Credit Suisse Against Investor

Cevdet Caner, the man at the center of Germany’s biggest real estate insolvency in 15 years, is fighting eviction from his 20 million pound ($31 million) London townhouse, complete with basement swimming pool, Bloomberg reported. His group of investment companies called Level One owes €1.5 billion ($2 billion) to creditors led by Credit Suisse Group AG, according to estimates by the German administrator.

The two main holding companies defaulted and were placed under court administration in August, U.K. filings show, after the group bought 27,000 units of communist-era public housing in the former East Germany over three years, almost entirely with debt. The battles with creditors are the legacy of the boom years, when banks expanded lending to real estate investors--even those with limited experience like Caner.

Lenders blame him for mismanagement and say about €50 million were channeled out of the Level One businesses while they failed to pay utility and tax bills, according to six people who have seen an audit of Level One’s finances. Caner, 35, said he faults the banks for a change of heart after pledging to loan him the money.