2023-06-12 10:46:47
After the sale of the operative Kika/Leiner business by the Signa Retail Group of the Tyrolean investor Rene Benko to the trade manager Hermann Wieser, the new owner wants to apply for a reorganization procedure without self-administration tomorrow, Tuesday, in St. Pölten. This was confirmed by Kika/Leiner spokesman Michael Slamanig when asked by APA. In view of new financial details regarding Kika/Leiner, the union is demanding a reversal of the sale.
In restructuring proceedings without self-administration, a lawyer with an economic background usually takes over control of the company as liquidator for a limited period of time. The prerequisite for such a restructuring procedure is that the restructuring plan is submitted before the insolvency proceedings are opened and that at least 20 percent of the debt is paid off within two years. In addition, the majority of creditors must agree to the restructuring plan.
Signa secured itself contractually when selling the operative Kika/Leiner business to Wieser. Warranty and liability are limited to the amount of the purchase price, i.e. a total of three euros, the “Standard” recently wrote. In addition, the buyer cannot assert any claims once morest previous managing directors, members of the supervisory board, shareholders or lenders and he cannot withdraw from the contract or contest the contract. The Kika/Leiner spokesman confirmed the rumored contract details to the APA. However, the spokesman did not want to comment on internal company figures and referred to the imminent application for the restructuring process. According to “Krone”, the liabilities of Kika/Leiner should be around 150 million euros, most of which should be tax deferrals.
Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) referred to the Finanzprokuratur in connection with the possible loss of taxpayers’ money due to any insolvency proceedings by Kika/Leiner. They were “commissioned to look following the interests of the republic” and to examine what legal options exist, he confirmed to journalists on Monday.
At the weekend it became known that the company had been deferred taxes during the corona pandemic, which Kika/Leiner was supposed to pay back later. “Now look in detail at what the challenges are,” says Brunner. In the coming “hours and days”, the Financial Procuratorate is to examine “what the consequences will actually be”. According to Brunner, this involves different subject areas such as the support funds made available or the insolvency fee fund.
The operative part of the furniture chain has long been in the red. For the South African Kika/Leiner owner Steinhoff (2013-2018) and for Signa (2018-2023), the furniture trade was a loss-making business. By the end of September 2021, the Kika Möbel-Handelsgesellschaft and the Rudolf Leiner Gesellschaft had accumulated a balance sheet loss of EUR 106 million and EUR 83.7 million respectively, according to the company register (Wirtschafts-Compass). Both companies were merged in mid-2022 and have been trading under the name of Leiner & kika Möbelhandels GmbH ever since. The annual financial statements for 2021/2022 are not yet available.
After almost five years as the owner, the Signa Retail Group sold the furniture chain’s properties for 350 million euros to the Supernova Group of German specialist retailer Frank Albert at the beginning of June, according to APA information. Wieser, as the new owner of the operating business, announced that it would close 23 of 40 locations by the end of July and lay off 1,900 of 3,900 employees. In the planned restructuring process without self-administration, the bankruptcy administrator then decides on branch closures and job cuts.
In recent years, the operational Kika and Leiner companies have paid rents in the millions to their own real estate companies that own the locations. In the 2020/21 financial year, rental and leasing obligations amounted to EUR 24 million at Kika and EUR 19 million at Leiner. According to the company register (Wirtschafts-Compass), the accumulated balance sheet profit of KIKA Immobilien GmbH over the years amounted to EUR 60 million at the end of 2021 and at Leiner Immobilien GmbH it was EUR 6.6 million. “However, the amount of rental income will still lead to some discussions, as this was partly responsible for the loss in the operating company,” said the head of the SME consultant Finance Ombudsteam, Gerald Zmuegg, in a broadcast on Monday. The bank liabilities, such as a loan of 123.2 million from RLB NÖ-Wien, were paid from the operating company’s rental income. For Zmuegg, it is no coincidence that the annual financial statements of Leiner & kika Möbelhandels GmbH as of September 30, 2022 have not yet been filed with the company register. “Objection deadlines might have been included in the considerations here,” explained the head of the finance ombudsman team.
“What is happening here is a scandal on the backs of taxpayers and employees,” criticized GPA chairwoman Barbara Teiber in a broadcast. “The entire kika/Leiner deal must be reversed. The finance minister must indemnify the republic,” demanded Teiber.
The employees of Kika/Leiner are now waiting for details of the rehabilitation process. From tomorrow until the end of the week, works meetings are planned at all Kika/Leiner branches throughout Austria. The Chamber of Labor and the Insolvency Protection Association for Employees (ISA) will provide information there regarding the protection of claims (including ongoing remuneration, special payments). After the opening of the insolvency, the public insolvency fee fund (IEF) takes over the payment of the employee salaries following assertion. Open claims from the employment relationship must be asserted promptly at the regional court in St. Pölten and at IEF Service GmbH in order to safeguard the claims.
1686567237
#KikaLeiner #file #bankruptcy #Tuesday
