The rescue of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has become a little more likely. The Essen district court has opened insolvency proceedings for the floundering department store group.
The ailing department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is now in its third insolvency proceedings. The Essen District Court opened standard insolvency proceedings for the company on Easter Monday, according to a statement from the court today. Until recently, it was unclear whether there would even be a regulated insolvency procedure.
With the opening of proceedings, creditors can now register their claims against the department store chain with the insolvency administrator. Attorney Stefan Denkhaus, who had previously only been appointed as a provisional administrator, was appointed as the insolvency administrator.
A special feature of the process is that discussions have already begun with possible new owners for the company. Last week Denkhaus announced that it was negotiating with two interested parties with “great experience in German retail.”
Solution in April?
Denkhaus wants to complete the sale during April. The final decision on a takeover is made by the meeting of creditors. This is due to meet on May 28th at Messe Essen to vote on the insolvency plan drawn up by Denkhaus.
Galeria had already filed for insolvency at the Essen district court at the beginning of January. The third bankruptcy within three and a half years was triggered by the collapse of the Austrian entrepreneur René Benko’s parent company Signa. The number of branches in the department store chain has halved since the first bankruptcy; there are currently 92 remaining. How many remain is still open. According to Denkhaus, it will involve taking over at least “60 plus X branches”.
Negotiations with landlords
Many of the 12,800 employees therefore have to fear for their jobs. “We try to maintain the best possible branch network and really fight for every branch,” said Denkhaus. The number of remaining locations depends primarily on the ongoing negotiations with the landlords. If there is no concession from the landlord, the affected branches would have to be closed.
Rents are significantly above average, especially in the branches that are located in properties owned by the Signa subsidiary Prime Selection. Last Friday, Signa Prime’s restructuring manager announced that the company was receiving a loan of 100 million euros from asset manager Attestor Ltd. The loan is used to maintain business operations during the restructuring process.
It was also announced at the weekend that the Bangkok-based Central Group was planning to take over the luxury department stores of the Signa subsidiary Retail Luxury Holding. These include the Selfridges department store in London as well as the KaDeWe Group with its department store of the same name in Berlin, the Alsterhaus in Hamburg and the Oberpollinger in Munich.
2024-04-02 10:19:57
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