Scranton has focused its activity on real estate and venture capital, with investments in startups and companies in restructuring, but its investments have often had a sentimental component, without considering exclusively financial criteria, so that some of them consume capital and Its profitability expectation is doubtful.
The most paradigmatic case is the investment in the Joventut de Badalona Club: the 2022 accounts indicate that he had invested 5.8 million euros in it, which he began to record as losses, leaving the value of his 85% stake in the club. basketball at 1 euro, in addition to giving it a line of credit of 15 million euros. Another investment in this line is a loan of 1 million euros to the publisher of the newspaper Ara, which will only accrue interest if the company achieves a positive operating profit.
Scranton’s main assets are those linked to Grifols: the shares, the headquarters and the plasma centers, recorded at their acquisition price, in some cases 24 years ago, and with significant hidden capital gains.
The group has opted for venture capital, investing in technology companies or in restructuring. In the first case, his 47% in Rob Surgical stands out, a Catalan startup that develops a surgical robot, in which he has invested 10 million euros, 4.4 in loans, but which has reduced its book value to 3.3 million . The holding company’s second major technological investment in Catalonia is Hemav, a firm that develops and operates drones for use in sectors such as agriculture, in which it controls 72%: with 7.3 million euros invested, its losses have reduced its value in books at 5.9 and granted it an additional credit of 1.9 million in 2023. It also participates in various emerging companies in the health area, such as the American Qardio, in which it has invested 48 million euros, which develops medical devices such as tension meters or smart scales.
In companies undergoing restructuring, its commitment to Iberboard (the former Abelan, whose production unit it acquired in bankruptcy proceedings) stands out: the Tarragona company is the only manufacturer of luxury packaging paper in Spain, in which it has invested 13.2 million euros, but which it values ??on its balance sheet at 1 euro, with 9 million outstanding credits. Also in this area it acquired Amelie, a French company that raises and markets oysters, in which it has already invested 7.8 million, and which after its restructuring began to generate profits in 2022.
Scranton also opted for the Juvé and Camps group (J
Another sector in which the group is very active is real estate, with investments valued at 415 million euros. In this area, the 48% that it acquired in Corp Edificación stands out, which it values ??at 46.5 million euros, a firm that owns residential land in the Barcelona area and has 10 developments underway, with 1,600 homes and 8,000 m2 of commercial space. , in addition to 800 homes under construction for other companies.
Another real estate subsidiary is Centurion Real Estate, which was about to go public. With 48 million in book value, it owns properties that it rents, such as the Grifols headquarters or that of its foundation, as well as the premises of the former Winterthur headquarters, on Barcelona’s Diagonal, which it acquired for 50 million euros. Tamani Trade, valued at 50 million, is the owner of the Hesperia Presidente Hotel.
