Bargain chain Big Bazar is given time to make arrangements with creditors and to reorganize internally. The judge in Leeuwarden has determined this in a preliminary ruling on Friday, a court spokesman confirms. A special cooling-off period has been agreed. As a result, all filed bankruptcy applications by creditors are temporarily put on hold.
After the cooling-off period, the judge reappears. It is not yet known when that will be, on September 7 there will be a hearing to determine that. Big Bazar’s lawyer tells ANP news agency that the chain uses the Whoa procedure, which has been in force since 2021. This is intended to make it easier for companies that are in financial trouble to avoid bankruptcy. The company wants to collect all creditors in the coming period and try to reach an agreement with them, says the lawyer.
With the Whoa, companies with a heavy debt burden, but healthy business activities, can be helped to reorganize. During the cooling-off period, Big Bazar has time to reach an agreement, without creditors being able to immediately ask for their money. The court can then approve a private settlement between the company and the creditors, whereby all involved and uninvolved creditors are bound by the agreements.
Big Bazar, with a total of 1,600 employees in the Netherlands, has been in trouble for a few months. More and more parties complained that the chain no longer paid the bills. Last week, the director announced that he would close twenty stores in an attempt to keep the company “healthy”. Big Bazar points to, among other things, price increases, increased energy costs and increased vacancy, which exacerbated the financial problems.
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