Industrial Vilassarenca has reached an agreement with creditors to refinance its debt, which amounts to 14.7 million euros. The company, based in Barberà del Vallès, is dedicated to the manufacture of injected aluminum components for the automotive sector. It is owned by Joaquín Lacort (75%) and another minority partner. It is a historic firm in the sector. It was founded in 1966 and works for international reference clients.
However, the pandemic, the lack of chips and the rise in energy and raw material prices dragged the company into an insolvency crisis. Orders slowed, costs rose and the company had to repay a bank loan it had obtained to build a new factory in 2019, just a year before the pandemic. The works were completed in 2020, but due to the current situation, the company could not meet a liability that amounted to 14.7 million euros. In addition, the company went from billing 14 to 10 million euros from 2019 to 2020 and also entered losses.
After months of negotiations, the company has avoided entering bankruptcy by closing an agreement with creditors to refinance its debt. “The consensual plan has the support of creditors who represent 75% of the liabilities, a percentage that exceeds the two-thirds required for its effectiveness. We hope that the judge will approve the agreement in the next few days,” says Francisco Lacasa, a partner at the AGM law firm that has advised the company in this process.
According to Lacasa, the agreement contemplates that the 55 company workers get paid immediately, that the suppliers (among which there are other component, energy and aluminum companies) do so within two years and that the banking pool – made up of nine financial institutions – receive your money back within 7 to 15 years. “We are satisfied with the bankruptcy reform because it has facilitated this refinancing agreement before the company was forced to file a bankruptcy”, celebrates Lacasa.
In addition, the lawyer assures that the company is already recovering from the pandemic crisis and the normalization of the prices of raw materials and energy. This year, Industrial Vilassarenca plans to return to profit and bill between 15 and 20 million euros.
