Party Fiesta has put its production unit up for sale three months after filing for bankruptcy. Due to the pandemic, this well-known chain of costumes and celebratory items has accumulated a debt of more than 18 million euros, the result of its inability to return credits to banks (to which it owes 10 million), to suppliers (to who owes another 4 million) and other creditors including the public administration.
But all is not lost for the company, founded in Barcelona in 1994 by the Hernández family. On Wednesday, the commercial court number 10 of Barcelona will open the deadline for submitting offers from companies interested in acquiring the production unit. There are chances to save what is left of the business, controlled for four years by Suma Capital, an investment fund manager that acquired 97% of the capital (3% is in the hands of CEO Lolo Hernández) .
“At the moment, we know that three companies have shown interest. Among which there is a group of local businessmen and two international companies in the same sector”, comments Francesc Poch, bankruptcy administrator of the firm Advecon in charge of overseeing the process. Poch remembers that each company will establish the purchase conditions in its offer and then the judge will decide which is the best for the benefit of the competition.
According to the insolvency administrator’s criteria, Party Fiesta’s assets are valued at almost 8 million euros. Among which stand out the value of the brand, the goodwill, the stock of products and a logistics warehouse in the municipality of Fogars de la Selva.
And in fact, despite having filed for tender, the company has maintained its activity through 34 of its own stores spread across Spain. It has also retained 38 franchise store contracts, located in this country and abroad, in states such as France, Portugal, Germany or Austria. In total, the company employs 203 people and turnover has the potential to reach 20 million euros in the short term.
These are figures that are far from the results of the years before the pandemic, when Party Fiesta managed to employ 300 people through a network of more than 200 stores that reported a turnover of more than 30 million euros. In a few weeks, when the judge has chosen the best offer, Party Fiesta will have the opportunity to regain growth in the hands of a new owner.
