At the very edge of Felcsút, beyond the cemetery, the road reaches farmland. Lőrinc Mészáros and his family members now own all the plots along this stretch of Szári Street. Here, Hungary’s richest man and his wife, Andrea Várkonyi, are building an apartment complex designed to accommodate 20 guests with an underground garage, a hot tub, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and a gym.

The project has a net cost of 2.95 billion forints (approximately 7,66 million euros), and one of Mészáros’s flagship companies, Talentis Group Zrt., is providing financial coverage for the construction. Documents obtained by Direkt36 show that Talentis is securing the funding for the project. The company has expanded rapidly in recent years through subsidiaries that have won large state contracts.

At the end of last summer, Mészáros and Várkonyi transferred two plots of land in Felcsút to their jointly owned company, EKHO Belvedere Kft. One of these plots is the site of the “Felcsút – Apartment Building” project. According to the contract obtained by Direkt36, construction must be completed by the end of 2026. The development will consist of seven apartments, featuring an underground garage, a wellness area, a gym, a swimming pool, and an elevator with a capacity of 13 people.

Behind the construction is a company in which not only Mészáros but also the Hungarian state has a stake.

One of the investment-related documents states that Talentis Group intends to replace part of the coverage with a bank guarantee. A bank guarantee means that the bank commits to paying the beneficiary up to a specified amount if the client fails to meet its obligations. Another document reveals that the guarantee is being provided by MBH Bank, which has pledged to cover up to 450 million forints in costs if necessary. MBH Bank is partly owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, but the Hungarian state also holds a stake in the financial institution.

MBH Bank, citing banking secrecy, neither confirmed nor denied the information obtained by Direkt36 regarding the bank guarantee.

Zalán Novák, CEO of Első Fedezetkezelő Zrt., also declined to answer stating that the information we requested qualify as “payment secrets and disclosing such information could constitute a criminal offence. He added that bank guarantees are a common form of collateral, used in nearly half of such cases.

EKHO Belvedere Kft., the Mészáros Group, and the Talentis Group did not respond to Direkt36’s inquiries.

“We want to provide financial coverage in place of the developer”

The document obtained by Direkt36 originates from a so-called collateral management procedure. According to the law, in construction projects in Hungary with a value of more than 2.1 billion forints (approximately 5.5 million euros), the investor is required to involve a collateral manager in the project.

On the one hand, the investor must prove that they have sufficient funds to carry out the project and must transfer this money to the collateral management company according to a specific schedule, from which the contractor carrying out the construction work is paid. This practice was introduced at the end of 2009 with the aim of avoiding the previously serious problem of contractors not receiving their money for certain construction projects.

One of the largest companies in the Hungarian collateral management market is Első Fedezetkezelő Zrt., a company established in early 2010. This company also managed one of the investments of Győző Orbán, the prime minister’s father, as we reported in a previous article. At that time, the same company referenced in the current documents appeared in Győző Orbán’s investment. Talentis Group Beruházás-szervező Zrt. helped Győző Orbán by providing financial coverage for a 2023-2024 project, meaning they covered the costs. As we showed in our previous article, there were several signs that this was related to the construction of the Hatvanpuszta estate.

The Mészáros couple’s project called “Felcsút – Apartment Building” is also managed by Első Fedezetkezelő Zrt. One document dated early 2025 states that Talentis Group Zrt., owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, appears as a so-called “Fulfiment Partner” in the investment.

“We, the undersigned Fulfilment Partner, declare that we have an interest in the performance of the Builder and, based on the agreement concluded with the Builder, we wish to provide the financial cover on behalf of the Builder,” the statement reads.

Talentis had to justify why they were paying the financial coverage instead of Ekho Belvedere Kft. The company chose the “other” option and wrote that it had become a performance assistant “with regard to ongoing business negotiations.”

Talentis also states that it acknowledges that the amount paid by them can only be reclaimed from the Collateral Manager by the Developer, i.e. the company owned by Lőrinc Mészáros and Andrea Várkonyi.

Construction of the Mészáros project, named “Felcsút – Apartment Building,” in the fall of 2025. Photo: Zita Szopkó/Direkt36

Talentis Group is solely owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, and the company is one of the flagships of the Mészáros empire. Last year, it achieved a pre-tax profit of 44.3 billion forints (114, 6 million euros) and paid 1.1 billion forints (2,85 million euros) in dividends to the billionaire from Felcsút. According to G7 estimates, the total assets of the company, founded in 2010, amount to more than 145 billion forints (375 million euros), with direct holdings in nearly 30 companies. These include, for example, V-Híd Építő Zrt., which was commissioned to build the Budapest-Belgrade railway line and also the Southern Circular Railway, and generated a profit of nearly 40 billion forints (103,5 million euros) last year.

The group also includes Mészáros és Mészáros Zrt., about which G7 also wrote that after 2010, a significant portion of its net sales revenue came directly or through consortium partners from government projects. The company that owns ZÁÉV Építőipari Zrt. has also recently merged with Talentis. In recent years, ZÁÉV has been responsible for major state investments such as the 250 billion forints athletics stadium (647 million euros), the Museum of Ethnography, and the construction of the Puskás Arena.

Sauna and wellness on the outskirts of Felcsút

According to the documents, the project of Mészáros and Várkonyi on the outskirts of Felcsút aims to address shortcomings in tourism.

The contract states that the continuous development of the village and the steady increase in the number of visitors to the settlement have created a need for a building that can accommodate guests on a temporary basis.

“The goal was to create a building slightly further away from the center, which would house apartment-style accommodations that reflect the beauty of the surrounding environment and landscape.”

According to the contract, construction of the apartment building in Felcsút began in October 2024 and is scheduled for completion at the end of November 2026.

The accommodation building is located on a plot of more than 1.7 hectares. Seven apartments suitable for accommodating a total of 20 people will be built on the site, on two floors. There are also plans for a 23-space underground car park, a library room, a gym, and a wellness area with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a hot tub, and a sauna. A 13-person elevator will also contribute to the comfort of guests.

According to the document, the design will cost 263 million forints (approximately 680 thousand euros), and the construction fee will be 2.687 billion forints net (7 million euros). According to the contract, this amount does not include interior design, external roads, utilities outside the building, and landscaping.  Fejér B.Á.L. Zrt. is responsible for the work, meaning that the couple has entrusted the construction of the apartment building to a company owned by Lőrinc Mészáros and his children.

Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt. did not respond to Direkt36’s questions.

Despite the fact that Talentis Group is covering the costs instead of the developer, EKHO Belvedere Kft. also has its own funds. In June, G7 reported that Lőrinc Mészáros and Andrea Várkonyi had transferred 1.6 billion forints (4,1 million euros) to their joint company, EKHO Belvedere Kft., within a few weeks, and had also contributed two properties in Felcsút to the company. At the beginning of November, the couple paid another billion forints (2,5 million euros) to the company.

EKHO Belvedere Kft. was founded in 2021 by EKHO Private Equity Fund, and a few weeks later, Lőrinc Mészáros and his wife became its owners. The company’s main activity is the sale and purchase of real estate. In 2022, RTL reported that this company had become the owner of the Mészáros-Várkonyi couple’s luxury property on Széchenyi Hill, Budapest, where an 800-kilogram safe had previously been lifted in by crane.

At the end of October, Direkt36 visited the construction site in Felcsút, where work had progressed significantly since the summer. The roof structures of several buildings had already been completed. We counted at least four large, recently built properties constructed in the same style in the area.

Construction of the Mészáros project, named “Felcsút – Apartment Building,” in the fall of 2025. Photo: Zita Szopkó/Direkt36

Szári Street is relatively far from the center of Felcsút, located in the southeastern part of the town. The construction site is located away from residential areas, with industrial and agricultural areas surrounding the plots owned by the Mészáros family. It can only be accessed via a dirt road from one direction and is bordered by the Sósi stream on the other side. The construction site is closed off to curious onlookers by a fence and tarpaulin. Signs in several places warn that entry is prohibited and photography is not allowed. One of the entrances was guarded by a security guard when Direkt36 visited the site.

Only part of the plots are jointly owned by the couple; they acquired them last year and this year, and they cover a total area of more than five hectares.  The other two plots, located at the end of Szári Street, at the intersection with Pozsonyi Street, are owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, and construction was also underway there when we visited.  In other words, the total construction area exceeds 7.5 hectares.

The apartment building currently under construction is not the only accommodation connected to the prime minister’s old friend in this village of less than 2,000 inhabitants. Felcsút is also home to Hotel Pancho, which originally started as a youth sports accommodation, but then became a four-star adult-friendly (i.e., offering child-free relaxation, not accepting small children) accommodation. The hotel is operated by Puskás Ferenc Sport Hotel Nonprofit, which is owned by the Felcsút Youth Training Foundation. The prime minister exercises the founding rights of the foundation, and its president is Lőrinc Mészáros. The hotel has been welcoming visitors since August 2022 in the center of Felcsút, right next to the Pancho Arena, according to G7 calculations.

Illustration: Máté Fillér / Telex