The Dordrecht real estate entrepreneur Pieter van Loon went to court in January. He filed for bankruptcy of Sports Unlimited Retail, the parent company of Aktiesport and Perry Sport, among others, because the rent for a retail property in Dordrecht had not been paid in full.
He said he received a letter at the beginning of January informing him that less rent would be transferred.
13.000 euro
“Without consultation. I also have regular personnel, insurance, fixed costs. That all goes on. I would like to hear from a judge why I have to bear this problem,” said Van Loon earlier. There is now an amount of more than 13,000 euros, including a fine.
It was not the first time that the two parties were at odds with each other. At the first lockdown, the sports store chain also wanted to pay less rent, which was followed by a bankruptcy petition. But before a judge was called in, the parties managed to reach an agreement.
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This time the judge had to take action. However, the sports chain does not want to declare bankruptcy. The rent has indeed not been paid in full, the judge finds. According to Sports Unlimited Retail, she cannot pay the full amount due to the lockdown and the corona crisis. The retail chain is claiming a rent reduction.
Furthermore, the sports chain states that it has never stopped paying, something that is often necessary to be declared bankrupt. The sports chain also claims to have been able to conclude a deal with other real estate landlords about the amount of the rent.
The Amsterdam court agrees with the sports chain: bankruptcy is too serious. Sports Unlimited is relieved, she says in a response.
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Inappropriate
“A bankruptcy was completely inappropriate and disproportionate in this situation. The consequences of a bankruptcy are so drastic, especially for our 1800 colleagues, that we have wondered throughout this procedure whether Mr Van Loon, about whose successful real estate transactions we could read in a article in the magazine Quote, realized these consequences. “
In these exceptional circumstances, we must assist each other and work together to maintain as many companies as possible, according to the sports retailer.
“We are successful with a large majority of property owners. We call on Mr Van Loon to join in and to stop his attempts to have other retail companies declared bankrupt in addition to ours.”
Not law, but politics
Van Loon has a very different view. “Justice has not been ruled on the basis of the law, but on the basis of political ideas. It is sad that this situation has arisen at all. But it can never be the case that a multi-billion company leaves private landlords in the cold in this way.”
According to Van Loon, this decision will make it difficult to make agreements with tenants, now and in the future.
“I also think that if a Rotterdam court had made a decision, the outcome would be different. I have experienced that the Amsterdam judicial system is imbued with a left-wing vision. This has nothing to do with justice. All the conditions have been met for a bankruptcy order. requirements “, says Van Loon.
The real estate owner will make a final proposal to the shop in Dordrecht on Monday. “If they do not accept that, I will start a substantive appeal on appeal.”
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