PressSplit
The traditional Bonn-based company Kessko is insolvent. The reason for this is that cocoa prices have risen dramatically. The company wants to restructure itself through self-administration.
Bonn – The wave of insolvencies currently sweeping across Germany is hitting numerous companies hard and causing economic uncertainty in many sectors. Between January and March of this year, over 5,200 companies filed for bankruptcy – a quarter more than in the same quarter last year. This trend is also reflected in the German news: Most recently, the furniture store chain Opti-Wohnwelt was hit, the clothing chain Scotch & Soda and a traditional brewery from Viechtach. Now the fourth-generation family business Kessko, based in Bonn, is also insolvent – and has filed for restructuring under self-administration.
Insolvency at traditional company Kessko: Cocoa price quintuples
The focus of the well-known traditional company Kessko is on the production and marketing of baking and confectionery ingredients. The company was founded in 1905 and supplies large companies in the baking and confectionery industry, artisan confectionery businesses and ice cream parlors. Initially started by Gustav Kessler Senior in Hilden, Forma moved to Bonn in 1917. Kessko delivers its products to around 40 countries worldwide. Last year, the traditional company reported a turnover of around 25 million euros.
Now, due to impending insolvency, Kessler & Comp. GmbH & Co. KG had to file an application for judicial restructuring proceedings in self-administration with the Bonn District Court last week. In the production and processing of high-quality confectionery, raw materials such as raw cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, almonds, nuts and other ingredients are used. The main reason for the difficulties is the increased prices of raw materials, according to a press release from the company. Around 100 employees are affected.
Insolvency at Kessko also due to external influences: Crop failures in Africa affect the market
Crop failures in Africa recently led to the price of raw cocoa “exploding” and increasing fivefold – one of the most important raw materials in Kessko’s production. Merkur also reported on the price increase. The company, which was already in a restructuring process, was additionally burdened by the costs. Some business partners also insisted on advance payment, so that the company slipped further into crisis.
“Kessler & Comp. GmbH & Co. KG (KESSKO), based in Bonn, filed an application for judicial restructuring proceedings under self-administration with the competent Bonn District Court on July 17, 2024 due to impending insolvency. The management remains in office and has unrestricted authority to act and issue instructions. In addition, the court will not appoint a provisional insolvency administrator, but a provisional trustee who will monitor the management in the interests of the creditors,” a spokesperson said in response to a request from IPPEN.Media there with.
The Bonn court approved the application on July 18, 2024 and ordered provisional self-administration. The two managing directors of Kessko, Ralf Schlich and Christoph Rohschenkel, will remain in office and continue to run the business. The duo will now be supported by the two lawyers Jens Lieser and Dr. Alexander Jüchser as general agents and restructuring experts. The court has also appointed the lawyer Dirk Obermüller as administrator, who will keep an eye on the restructuring process in the interests of the creditors. The aim now is to “use the instruments of the insolvency law to restructure the company sustainably on our own initiative in order to then start anew.”
What happens to Kessko’s 100 employees and customers?
“Our primary goal is to get our traditional company back on track financially, to continue it successfully and to preserve jobs,” says Kessko managing director Ralf Schlich in the company’s press release. The approximately 100 employees have been informed and wages have also been secured through the Federal Employment Agency until the end of September – after that, the company wants to pay the salaries itself again.
The company will continue to operate as usual for employees and customers. A restructuring plan was initiated last year, which, according to general manager Jens Lieser, is already showing the first signs of a “successful turnaround”. He is hopeful: “The traditional company has good prospects of getting off to a good start in the future after the restructuring.”
