Strike through recovery plan for former Belgian Blokker stores | Financial

Instead, the Mechelen Business Court has appointed two provisional administrators who will take over the management of the retail chain. In addition, a judicial investigation has been started into Dirk Bron, the Dutch owner of the chain.

The Blokker stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, with approximately 670 employees, were taken over by Bron earlier this year. The businessman is not undisputed and is already on trial for fraud in the Netherlands. His name would be mentioned in issues surrounding the trade in tens of thousands of Björn Borg boxer shorts from Turkey and a stolen truckload of Spanish slippers. Bron himself has contradicted those allegations before. The Belgian public prosecutor’s office focuses its investigation on possible forgery of documents, forgery of annual accounts and misuse of corporate assets.

It was recently announced that Mega World wants protection against creditors. But it remains unclear which debts are involved and how big debts are. The judge declared the request inadmissible on Monday because not enough crucial documents were submitted that give a correct financial picture of the company.

The management of Mega World had just indicated last month that they had a recovery plan in place, which would not involve layoffs or store closures. “We need all 119 branches,” was emphasized. Mega World also wanted to start legal proceedings against the previous owner of the chain, the Dutch Mirage Retail Group. According to Mega World, certain things would not have been reported with the sale.

–