The architectural firm Space Group has garnered international recognition for several of its projects. Now the company has declared bankruptcy.
The world’s largest architecture website, Arch Daily, nominated the city park Ruten in Sandnes for the award for building of the year in 2022. Now the architectural office that designed the project has declared itself bankrupt. Photo: Pål Christensen / Stavanger Aftenblad Published: Published:
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Space Group has designed several prestigious projects such as the rebuilding of Aker Brygge, the development of Oslo S, Tromsø ferry terminal and the city park Ruten in Sandnes.
The architect’s office has also worked with important cultural institutions such as the National Library, the Stenersen Museum and the Viking Age Museum on Bygdøy.
The founders behind the company, Gary Bates and Gro Bonesmo, do not want to speak to E24 about the reasons for the bankruptcy.
In the peak year of 2010, Space Group had 18 employees and a turnover of NOK 25 million. In 2022, turnover had halved, and the company made a loss for the third year in a row.
During the first three months of the year, the company’s equity was completely lost. At the end of October, the Oslo district court opened bankruptcy in the company.
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Missing assignment
– The bankruptcy is due to the fact that the company did not have enough ongoing assignments, in addition to the fact that they had a loss on an ongoing project, says trustee Johan Ratvik.
He is a lawyer at DLA Piper.
– So far it looks like an orderly bankruptcy. The company has tried to get new assignments without success. The board has also tried to cut costs, including by canceling its premises, but in the end it didn’t work anymore, says Ratvik further.
Close to 2.2 million in covid debt
Bonesmo has explained to the housing board that operations were significantly affected by the covid pandemic, with several projects said to have come to a complete halt. During this period, Space Group received a state-guaranteed loan through DNB which was supposed to ensure that the employees were paid.
The loan of almost NOK 2.2 million makes up most of the company’s total debt of NOK 2.8 million.
According to the report, Chairman Gary Bates has explained that the company has tried to save the company by bringing in new assignments, as well as implementing cost-saving measures.
Bankruptcy after embezzlement
In June 2014, the company, then under the name Space Group Arkitekter, went bankrupt for the first time.
According to trustee Nils Holger Koefoed, the bankruptcy is largely due to a disloyal female employee, who was later sentenced to nine months in prison for embezzling NOK 1.8 million from the company.
In the verdict against the woman, it appears that she spent the money on exclusive fashion clothes and bags from Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabanna, Balenciaga and Alexander Wang.
According to the estate report, the woman, who worked as an internal accounting employee, must have deliberately failed to ensure that the accounts were kept correctly, and ensured that the company’s board and management never found out about a number of financial claims against the company.
Shortly after the bankruptcy, the business was transferred to the owner company Space Group Company. Since 2019, the office has been owned by founders Gary Bates and Gro Bonesmo, as well as Floire Nathanael Daub.
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2023-11-19 04:00:00
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