Our Case Studies

Heibad is a midsize company based in the Franconian Lake District. It designs and produces bathroom furnishings with the hallmark of ‘Made in Germany’ quality. Production takes place in Heideck (Bavaria) at a facility covering some 10,000 square metres. The company uses high-quality materials and components from well-known manufacturers within its own production setup. This results in bathroom furnishings of the highest quality. The company was founded in 2000. Initially, heibad was purely a distribution business. Today, it is an industrial enterprise with its own production facilities. heibad filed for insolvency to respond to the economic challenges it was facing. The local court appointed restructuring expert Mr Peter Roeger from PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH as provisional insolvency administrator.

The business remained fully operational after the application for insolvency had been filed. The wages and salaries of the some 120 employees were guaranteed for a period of three months thanks to specific substitute benefits provided under German insolvency law. The business partners were supportive of the efforts to keep the company operating. Trade fairs were also attended as planned. At the same time, the PLUTA team conducted a structured M&A process. The aim was to find a long-term solution for the company. Just two months after the company had filed for insolvency, the team was able to secure an investor.

The Config I/O Brands Group acquired heibad’s business operations by way of an asset deal. The acquisition strengthens the buyer’s position in the premium furniture segment. Operations at the Heideck facility will continue without disruption. More than 100 jobs have been saved. heibad will remain an independent entity with its own brand and structure. Moving forward, the company will continue to be a proven partner to specialist retailers. The acquisition is very good news for the creditors as well, as the insolvency administrator has been able to achieve the best possible outcome.

Sono Motors was founded in 2016 and is based in Munich. It secured its initial funding through a successful crowdfunding campaign. The company specialises in the development and production of solar technology in vehicles. Sono Motors also developed the Sion solar-powered electric car. The company announced a new strategy in February 2023. Since then, it has focused on retrofitting and integrating solar technology for third-party vehicles and fleet operators. The Sion project was discontinued. A plan was prepared to settle repayment claims relating to Sion reservations. However, the funding needed for this could not be raised. The company filed for protective shield proceedings in May 2023.

The protective shield proceedings offered Sono Motors GmbH the flexibility it needed to comprehensively restructure itself. Restructuring expert Mr Ivo-Meinert Willrodt from PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH was appointed insolvency monitor for Sono Motors GmbH. Ms Marlene Scheinert assumed the same role for the parent company, Sono Group N.V. Initially, attention was given to the strategic realignment and the preparation of a robust restructuring plan. The company focused entirely on retrofitting and integrating its solar technology into third-party vehicles. Business operations were maintained during the proceedings. A repayment plan was drawn up for customers who had paid deposits for the discontinued Sion project. Just nine months after filing, Sono Group N.V. withdrew its self-administration application. The court confirmed and gave legal effect to the Sono Motors GmbH insolvency plan.

An insolvency plan was prepared for Sono Motors GmbH and this increased the recovery rate. Restructuring agreements were concluded with the creditors of Sono Group N.V. A US investor provided the financing for the insolvency plan, clearing the way for the termination of the holding company’s proceedings.

Personalised customer care, premium products and German quality. All signs point towards a positive future for Warendorf – Die Küche GmbH. The PLUTA restructuring experts were able to successfully keep the kitchen manufacturer’s business operations going and find an investor four months after the company had filed for insolvency. With a new investor from Hong Kong and a new name – now Warendorf Küchenfabrik GmbH – but the same high quality with a “made in Germany” guarantee, customers worldwide will welcome the solution achieved. This is also a positive result for employees. Most of the some 110 original jobs have been saved through the takeover.

The insolvency law experts from PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH found an investor for Straubinger Metallbau GmbH, based in Bavaria. The company, which has been operating for more than 40 years, filed for insolvency due to liquidity problems. Its core competencies lie in metal and steel construction and fire protection measures. In this area, the company also advises architects and building contractors. The buyer is the former managing director, who set up the company and then successfully managed it for years. Under the asset deal, this long-standing company will retain its name and all jobs have been saved.

Evraz Highveld is the second largest steel manufacturer in South Africa. It is the country’s only producer of heavy structural steel products and only one of five such companies in the world.

In 2015 the Board and management advised that the firm did not have sufficient funding to meet its financial obligations for the short term as a result of historical operational and financial difficulties and extremely difficult steel and vanadium market conditions. It was resolved to place the company into Business rescue.

Initially an accelerated M&A process was entered into, in order to find a strategic investor, and ways of reducing costs were implemented.  Several independent environmental specialists were appointed to evaluate and assess the potential environmental liability and a  rotational lay off agreement was entered into with the unions,  and later, a full retrenchment of all the staff.

In an attempt to preserve value, an application was submitted to the International Trade Administration Commission (“ITAC”) for import price protection. Several private and governmental entities were approached in order to obtain post commencement funding.

The process is currently still underway.

Farber’s multi-disciplinary team were engaged by the private equity fund/shareholder to provide advice and guidance to the Board of Directors and management team as the Company operated through a financial and operational turnaround.

Our duties included assessing and building the management team, advising on all financial and cash flow implications as well as assisting in all aspects of operational performance improvement. 

Farber were able to develop strategy, including closing facilities and building sales capabilities and recruit a new CEO and sale staff, resulting in a 20% improvement in productivity and ensuring the cost of capital is optimised.  Farber are continuing to provide support for finance and operations of the business.

A receiver appointed by the court asked Zalis to guide a home builder ranked number 2 in France, out of its cash flow crisis.

Zalis assisted the management and shareholders to deal with a business slowdown, using a large operational team to audit the group (and its different business units spread across France) and to build an action plan to rescue the business.

The resulting action plan was implemented over a full year. Once the rescue had proved successful, a buyer was found for the company.

We were appointed by creditors (Including a major Australian trading bank) to this highly regarded manufacturer of components for the military, aviation and automotive sectors. As liquidator we continued to trade the business for the benefit of service to key customers, including the manufacture auto-industry parts for sale to the US market, and bullets for the Australian Army whilst the business was marketed.

After a successful marketing and sales process we sold all the assets to various buyers around the world.

In 2013, PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH succeeded in selling the Göppingen-based toy manufacturer Gebr. Märklin & Cie GmbH to a member company of the Simba-Dickie Group. After Märklin, a traditional German enterprise, filed for insolvency in March 2009, we pursued a course of restructuring and brought the model railway manufacturer back on the road to success. The insolvency Administrator, Michael Pluta, managed to fully meet the creditors’ claims. The payout to all the creditors has in the meantime reached a sum in the high-eight-digit range.