Spicul S.A. entered insolvency

Bread manufacturer and milling company Spicul S.A. owned by businessman Gheorghe Ilie entered insolvency in early September, at its own request. KPMG Restructuring was named judicial administrator, according to Mediafax. Spicul is a long-lasting brand in bread manufacturing industry with 160 years of history. The company had 100 million lei (23.7 million euro) debt, at the end of 2010. Its turnover reached only 15.4 million lei (3.6 million euro), according to Ministry of Finance website.

A conflict looming

Company’s investments grew since 2007, at almost the same pace as its debts which tripled. Gheorghe Ilie confessed that he “didn’t wanted to be remembered as Spicul grave digger”, referring to factory relocation from Grozavesti to Chitila. The new factory was opened in 2007 after a 30 million euro investment was made. It was one of the biggest investments in the industry.

But this was it! Bad news didn’t delay too much in showing. A Romanian subsidiary of Dutch developer Remco Ruimtebouw who participated in the construction of the new production unit in Chitila announced in July, this year, that Spicul still didn’t paid the whole costs for the building.

Spicul S.A. has to pay 785,161 lei to Remco Romania according to a decision of The Court of International Commercial Arbitration Court, at Chamber of Commerce and Industry. To this amount will be added the interest rates associated with the debt, as well as foreclosure costs and judicial spending.

“We worked very well with Spicul representatives during bread factory foreclosure and we are very disappointed that we ended up in this conflicting situation. Remco Romania complied with the signed contract and finished the construction by the dead-line. We wish to collect the total amount agreed in our contract and we don’t want to wait another year or two for settling this case”, said Jan F.J. van Vulpen, CEO of Remco Romania.