Our Case Studies

The automotive supplier Scheeff, based in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, had to file for insolvency some years ago. The PLUTA insolvency administration team kept the business going for almost one year and implemented important restructuring measures. Some 1.5 million euros had to be invested during the insolvency proceedings to meet official and other requirements. Following intensive negotiations, a solution was found for the company. A well-known group of companies from the region with over 1,000 employees acquired the foundry and kept on more than 100 of its employees. Creditors received a recovery rate of more than 20%.

GfI employed many highly qualified people, but sales still declined, as its focus on customers in the automotive sector proved to be a problem. In order to best position itself for other industrial sectors as well, GfI filed an application for debtor-in-possession insolvency proceedings. Management remained in charge and guided the company through the crisis itself. A PLUTA expert was appointed as insolvency monitor by the court to protect the interests of the creditors. The company was restructured during the proceedings and was sold to and integrated into an engineering service provider group with international operations.

QSSL Industrieservice GmbH, based in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, was a provider of quality assurance services as well as various services for the automotive sector in particular. The company, with several /our-firms in Germany, had to file for insolvency in 2019. Just two months later, the PLUTA restructuring experts managed to find a follow-up solution which ensured that all jobs were saved. The business has been acquired by TRIGO Böllinger Technik from Bremen, the German subsidiary of the renowned TRIGO Group based in France.

GEWA 5 to 1, a project company established for the construction of the Gewa Tower, had to file for insolvency during the construction of the structural shell. When completed, the 107- metre-high tower was to be the third highest residential block in Germany. The company had issued an SME bond to finance the project. After considerable negotiation with various investors, the PLUTA insolvency law experts were able to find a solution for the Gewa Tower. The CG Group, with operations throughout Germany, has acquired the tower near Stuttgart. Instead of the originally planned owner-occupied flats, compact rental apartments are now being created on a floor space of approx. 10,500 square metres. This is not only a good solution for the tight rental market, but also for the bondholders, who will receive a higher-than-average recovery rate.

The insolvency proceedings for the real estate project company Ritter & Kyburz GbR were the talk of the Kempten region in southern Germany. The property is known as the “Big Hole” there since the construction project had come to a standstill for several years after the excavation work had been completed and parts of the underground garage had been built. The underground garage has since been completed. The PLUTA team was able to sell the property with a plot measuring 2,031 square metres. The buyer is a bidder consortium from southern Germany that prevailed in the two-stage bidding process and won the tender as the highest bidder. The property is situated in a prime location in Kempten. Student apartments will be built there. With more than 6,000 students, Kempten is an ideal place for such a project.

The well-known founder of the JT Touristik travel agency built the company into a familiar brand in the tourism sector. Nevertheless, an application for insolvency followed in the summer of 2017. The PLUTA restructuring experts ensured during the proceedings that more than 10,000 trips went ahead for more than 30,000 holidaymakers. A solution followed in late 2017 – the business was sold to the discounter Lidl, which strengthened its own travel business with the acquisition. All jobs were saved through the solution, and the familiar JT Touristik brand is still in use.

The retail investor Treveria had to file an application for insolvency for 36 German companies. The purpose of these companies was to own and manage the properties held. The real estate portfolio mainly consisted of large retail properties. The PLUTA experts were able to successfully conclude the sale of the Treveria Silo-C real estate portfolio in 2017. At the beginning of the proceedings, the PLUTA team made the right decision to sell the retail centres and stores successively, rather than the portfolio as a whole. This meant that the team was able to achieve considerably higher proceeds in the interests of the creditors.

DORINT Hotel in Augsburg GmbH & Co. KG filed for debtor-in-possession insolvency proceedings in spring 2016. The investment company owned the hotel in the Bavarian city’s impressive tower. During the proceedings, the hotel remained fully operational and was not affected by the holding company’s insolvency. After considerable, complex negotiations and a bidding process with more than 30 potential buyers, an investor was found just a few months later. Management remained in charge and guided the company through the proceedings itself. A PLUTA expert was appointed insolvency monitor by the court to support the debtor-in-possession proceedings in the interests of the creditors. In the end, the proceedings also paid off for the creditors, who received a 100% recovery rate.

Matratzen direct AG, a mattress retailer with 558 employees and 256 discount stores, applied for debtor-in-possession insolvency proceedings in early 2017. Under such an arrangement, management remains in charge and guides the company through the crisis itself. A PLUTA expert was appointed insolvency monitor to supervise the restructuring process and protect the interests of the creditors. The company had fallen into financial difficulties due to a dramatic decline in sales after it was required under competition law to change its former name “Factory Outlet”, which had been very useful in its advertising. The business was kept operating in full during the insolvency proceedings and an insolvency plan in which creditors agreed to waive part of their claims was drawn up. In total, 176 stores and 410 jobs were saved. Insolvency proceedings were terminated in late 2017.

Zalis was asked to advise SaarLB, a German bank, on a potential transaction to convert into equity the debt issued to a private equity fund and secured by a pledge on a shopping centre in the Paris region, giving it a controlling stake in the shopping centre.

With a an occupancy rate that had dropped to 76% with 12 out of 50 units vacant and several more under notice, a reduced footfall and a damaged reputation the value of the shopping centre had plummeted. After several failed attempts to sell the asset the owner had entered into a voluntary court bankruptcy procedure in order to negotiate an exit from the property under which the lender would take possession of the asset. The bank’s debt had by now an extremely high risk profile and the loan was transferred to the bank’s Special Situations group who asked Zalis to conduct a commercial study on the current situation of the shopping centre and to draw up a potential turnaround plan.

The Zalis study concluded that the shopping centre had sufficient advantages and potential (reasonable catchment area, good motorway access, the right flagship tenant, etc.) to succeed. Zalis proposed a viable turnaround plan to revitalise the shopping centre, improve its performance and increase its value, but this plan would have taken two years to bear full fruit and it depended on a significant level of change (rent reductions, more appropriate tenants, etc.). As a result the bank then decided to seek a buyer for its debt rather than exercise its option to take ownership of the property.