The seven hotels in the Hotasa chain that is part of the collapsed Nueva Rumasa group have been valued at 86 million euros, sufficient to pay off creditors owed by the various hotels. The highest price is wanted for the Beverly Playa in Peguera (34 million), while of the three Can Picafort hotels, the Clumba Mar is the highest priced at 9.9 million.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
Showing posts with label Nueva Rumasa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nueva Rumasa. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Hidden Assets: The Marsans scandal
The surviving business partner who ran what was once Spain's largest company employer has been arrested. Gerardo Díaz Ferrán formerly headed up Grupo Marsans along with Gonzalo Pascual, who died six months ago, and was also formerly the president of the CEOE, the Spanish equivalent of the CBI. He was detained on Monday, accused of money laundering and non-declaration of assets.
Díaz Ferrán's arrest is the latest twist in the ongoing investigation of the bankrupted Marsans, and Díaz Ferrán is the latest Spanish über-businessman with a strong Mallorcan connection to be collared by the police. Of others, José María Ruiz-Mateos, owner of another failed company, Nueva Rumasa, is accused of diverting money raised by mortgaging hotels in the Hotasa chain, of which there are several in Mallorca. Nueva Rumasa, in its original incarnation before it was expropriated by the Spanish government in 1983 because of its massive debts, was Spain's biggest company, so in that previous incarnation it was as important a business as Marsans was prior to its collapse in 2010.
Díaz Ferrán and Ruiz-Mateos are both high-profile businesspeople, though arguably neither is as high profile as Iñaki Urdangarin, the King's son-in-law, if only because neither of them has royal connections. Urdangarin is the third party in what is a pretty unholy businessperson trinity, even if the money involved in the case against Urdangarin is small beer when compared with that which is involved with both Marsans and Nueva Rumasa.
One aspect of the case against Urdangarin that has been investigated is the alleged channelling of money offshore. Díaz Ferrán faces a similar investigation, and the timing of his arrest is probably no coincidence as it has followed swiftly on the period of the amnesty for declaring previously undeclared assets having ended.
The investigation of Díaz Ferrán has been prompted in part because of complaints lodged by the likes of the Meliá hotel group and the Orizonia travel company. These complaints extend beyond Díaz Ferrán and include Ángel de Cabo, who has also been arrested. De Cabo is significant in all this, and especially so for Mallorca. Not only has he acquired some Nueva Rumasa businesses, his investment vehicle, Posibilitum, acquired Marsans businesses, one of them being Hotetur, of which Alcúdia's huge Bellevue hotel complex is a part. The complainants refer to the "alleged sale" for 600 million euros of Marsans to Posibilitum just prior to Marsans being declared bankrupt; this purchase has alternatively been described as having been made with a "nominal sum".
De Cabo, according to the police, acted as a sort of front man for Díaz Ferrán, and received a significant sum for doing so. The thrust of charges is that assets were syphoned off and hidden to avoid demands against Marsans that exceeded 400 million euros.
To say that the whole affair is complicated would be an understatement, and it is one that highlights links and relationships at the grandest corporate level which impact on Mallorca and Spain's tourism industry. One such link is that between Marsans and Orizonia. The latter is owed money by Marsans. The guarantee against this money was Bellevue, and the future management of Bellevue has been (and still is, as far as I am aware) the subject of a separate judicial examination to decide the fate of Hotetur. A proposal to split the operation of Bellevue between Posibilitum's management company and Orizonia's Luabay hotel division appears to still be up in the air. It is likely to be even further up in the air now that De Cabo has been arrested, now that questions about Posibilitum's acquisition of Marsans are being asked and now that, to make matters even more complicated, the Barceló hotel group has offered to buy Orizonia, subject to agreement by the Spanish competition commission. The uncertainty that has surrounded Bellevue throughout its 40 years of existence just refuses to go away.
Coming on top of political corruption cases and of the dire economic situation, the cases against the unholy businessperson trinity are all damaging: Ruiz-Mateos, because he has long sailed close to the wind; Urdangarin, because of his connections; and now Díaz Ferrán. Of the three, his case may prove to be the most damaging for what remains of Spain's reputation. Former president of the Spanish business confederation, former owner of a massive company at the heart of the tourism industry; it doesn't get much worse.
Though the Díaz Ferrán case is not exclusively a Mallorcan issue, the affair does have strong Mallorcan links. Political corruption had come to be pretty much expected in Mallorca. Now there is business scandal as well, and you wonder how much more there might be to come.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Díaz Ferrán's arrest is the latest twist in the ongoing investigation of the bankrupted Marsans, and Díaz Ferrán is the latest Spanish über-businessman with a strong Mallorcan connection to be collared by the police. Of others, José María Ruiz-Mateos, owner of another failed company, Nueva Rumasa, is accused of diverting money raised by mortgaging hotels in the Hotasa chain, of which there are several in Mallorca. Nueva Rumasa, in its original incarnation before it was expropriated by the Spanish government in 1983 because of its massive debts, was Spain's biggest company, so in that previous incarnation it was as important a business as Marsans was prior to its collapse in 2010.
Díaz Ferrán and Ruiz-Mateos are both high-profile businesspeople, though arguably neither is as high profile as Iñaki Urdangarin, the King's son-in-law, if only because neither of them has royal connections. Urdangarin is the third party in what is a pretty unholy businessperson trinity, even if the money involved in the case against Urdangarin is small beer when compared with that which is involved with both Marsans and Nueva Rumasa.
One aspect of the case against Urdangarin that has been investigated is the alleged channelling of money offshore. Díaz Ferrán faces a similar investigation, and the timing of his arrest is probably no coincidence as it has followed swiftly on the period of the amnesty for declaring previously undeclared assets having ended.
The investigation of Díaz Ferrán has been prompted in part because of complaints lodged by the likes of the Meliá hotel group and the Orizonia travel company. These complaints extend beyond Díaz Ferrán and include Ángel de Cabo, who has also been arrested. De Cabo is significant in all this, and especially so for Mallorca. Not only has he acquired some Nueva Rumasa businesses, his investment vehicle, Posibilitum, acquired Marsans businesses, one of them being Hotetur, of which Alcúdia's huge Bellevue hotel complex is a part. The complainants refer to the "alleged sale" for 600 million euros of Marsans to Posibilitum just prior to Marsans being declared bankrupt; this purchase has alternatively been described as having been made with a "nominal sum".
De Cabo, according to the police, acted as a sort of front man for Díaz Ferrán, and received a significant sum for doing so. The thrust of charges is that assets were syphoned off and hidden to avoid demands against Marsans that exceeded 400 million euros.
To say that the whole affair is complicated would be an understatement, and it is one that highlights links and relationships at the grandest corporate level which impact on Mallorca and Spain's tourism industry. One such link is that between Marsans and Orizonia. The latter is owed money by Marsans. The guarantee against this money was Bellevue, and the future management of Bellevue has been (and still is, as far as I am aware) the subject of a separate judicial examination to decide the fate of Hotetur. A proposal to split the operation of Bellevue between Posibilitum's management company and Orizonia's Luabay hotel division appears to still be up in the air. It is likely to be even further up in the air now that De Cabo has been arrested, now that questions about Posibilitum's acquisition of Marsans are being asked and now that, to make matters even more complicated, the Barceló hotel group has offered to buy Orizonia, subject to agreement by the Spanish competition commission. The uncertainty that has surrounded Bellevue throughout its 40 years of existence just refuses to go away.
Coming on top of political corruption cases and of the dire economic situation, the cases against the unholy businessperson trinity are all damaging: Ruiz-Mateos, because he has long sailed close to the wind; Urdangarin, because of his connections; and now Díaz Ferrán. Of the three, his case may prove to be the most damaging for what remains of Spain's reputation. Former president of the Spanish business confederation, former owner of a massive company at the heart of the tourism industry; it doesn't get much worse.
Though the Díaz Ferrán case is not exclusively a Mallorcan issue, the affair does have strong Mallorcan links. Political corruption had come to be pretty much expected in Mallorca. Now there is business scandal as well, and you wonder how much more there might be to come.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, September 28, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Hotasa hotels will be sold to the highest bidder
The judge overseeing the affairs of the Hotasa chain (part of the collapsed Nueva Rumasa group whose founder, José María Ruiz-Mateos is being investigated for matters related specifically to the hotels) has declared that they will be sold to the highest bidder, no agreement having been arrived at between Hotasa and creditors. The hotels include the Sarah, Santa Fe and Clumba Mar in Can Picafort.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Ruiz-Mateos arrested in Madrid
The founder of Nueva Rumasa, José María Ruiz-Mateos, has been arrested at his home in Madrid on the order of the judge in Palma investigating allegations relating to the buying and selling of a hotel in the Balearics. Ruiz-Mateos has been refusing to comply with an order to appear before the court on the grounds that he has a broken toe.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
Thursday, August 02, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Judge says Nueva Rumasa diverted mortgage money
The truly bizarre case of Nueva Rumasa and its "colourful" owner, José María Ruiz-Mateos, gets more bizarre and more serious. The judge in Palma investigating the affairs of Nueva Rumasa has ordered Ruiz-Mateos' arrest after he failed to appear at court on Friday, claiming that a fractured foot meant that he could not travel. The judge has now also confirmed that money raised through mortgaging hotels in the Hotasa chain in the Balearics was diverted.
See more: El Mundo
See more: El Mundo
Saturday, September 10, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Nueva Rumasa hotels sold
The Hotasa hotels of the Nueva Rumasa conglomerate have been sold in a package that will see much of the collapsed company pass into the hands of the investment group Back In Business (Posibilitum); Posibilitum it was that came to the rescue of Hotetur (Bellevue in Alcúdia) when Grupo Marsans collapsed. The Hotasa hotels include three in Can Picafort.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
For Sale: Hotel, Needs Work
The possibility that the Posibilitum investment group, the owners of Alcúdia's Bellevue complex, might acquire the Hotasa hotels of the troubled Nueva Rumasa conglomerate should be viewed as welcome news by those running the hotels. I am told that the hotels are experiencing difficulties in providing services they should be. When the hotels opened for the season, and at one point it looked as some might not, suppliers made it clear that they would supply only on a cash-on-delivery basis.
The Hotasa hotels, which include three in Can Picafort, are an extreme case, but they are far from alone in having owners seeking buyers. Much of Mallorca's hotel stock is up for sale. And there are very few buyers.
The accord between tourism minister Carlos Delgado and the hoteliers that should pave the way for reform of the tourism law and so facilitate hotel conversion and change of use has been sought by the hoteliers for some years. The antiquity of many hotels makes their redevelopment a pressing necessity, but even with agreement and legal reform, a question would remain. How would these conversions be funded?
Delgado has said that the days of expecting grants, especially from central government, have passed. The banks have all but turned the taps off. The markets are reassured by this summer's rise in tourism numbers, but the leading hotel chains - and those which would be listed and more attractive to investors - have tended to look overseas for growth potential.
The hype of all the talk of hotel renovations and changes of use and the unions getting hot under the collar and threatening protests as a consequence may therefore be just that - hype. Some hotels and hotel chains are in good enough shape to effect changes, but many are not.
One reason why owners want to sell hotels and why it is proving difficult to do so and would also prove difficult to convert them is because they are that old that the cost of conversion would be nigh on prohibitive. Buyers are unlikely to take on hotels that demand significant investment in addition to what are sales tags which are too high. Like with many restaurants or bars that are for sale, the expectations of owners are unrealistic, based on past or expected performance and divorced from the circumstances that now obtain.
Bellevue, though taken on by Posibilitum, is a case in point when it comes to old stock. The complex, all 1400 apartments of it, is nearly 40 years old. Its sheer size is a constraint on renovation as is its age, but renovation is badly needed. Bellevue has acquired a more diverse market over the past few years - it isn't the ultra-Brit complex it once was - but it tends to be hotels for the British market in the resorts of Alcúdia and Magalluf that are the oldest and which attract less profit because of the very nature of the particular market they cater for. Another reason, therefore, why prospective buyers might be wary.
A further reason is the complexity of financing arrangements and ownership issues. The travel and hotel group Orizonia had, still has as far as I am aware, a mortgage on Bellevue which was raised as a guarantee against a debt to the company run up by the previous owners, the now bust Grupo Marsans. And there is a similar story with Hotasa.
Bank funding requires security, and in the case of Hotasa, the house has well and truly been bet. The court bankruptcy proceedings relating to Nueva Rumasa have revealed the scale of the mortgages that hang over Hotasa. One hotel alone, Santa Fe in Can Picafort, has been used as a guarantee four times, to which can be added the embargo slapped on it by the Hacienda in respect of a debt of some 120,000 euros. In total, the seven Hotasa hotels in the Balearics have mortgages valued at just short of 138 million euros, three and a half times the size of the mortgage debt said to be owed to Orizonia.
The judge presiding over the proceedings has been obliged to appoint five administrators because of the sheer complexity of the hotels' affairs. The labyrinth of different companies in addition to the various mortgages would surely make a purchaser riding to Hotasa's aid, be it Posibilitum or any other, pause while the administrators try and unravel the affairs. Hotasa may be a specific case, but who's to say what complexity might apply to other hotels or hotel groups and which might add to deterring prospective purchasers.
Outdated, unprofitable, underfunded, debt-ridden: the reasons why there are so few buyers for hotels and why the much-hoped-for conversions may yet never take place.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The Hotasa hotels, which include three in Can Picafort, are an extreme case, but they are far from alone in having owners seeking buyers. Much of Mallorca's hotel stock is up for sale. And there are very few buyers.
The accord between tourism minister Carlos Delgado and the hoteliers that should pave the way for reform of the tourism law and so facilitate hotel conversion and change of use has been sought by the hoteliers for some years. The antiquity of many hotels makes their redevelopment a pressing necessity, but even with agreement and legal reform, a question would remain. How would these conversions be funded?
Delgado has said that the days of expecting grants, especially from central government, have passed. The banks have all but turned the taps off. The markets are reassured by this summer's rise in tourism numbers, but the leading hotel chains - and those which would be listed and more attractive to investors - have tended to look overseas for growth potential.
The hype of all the talk of hotel renovations and changes of use and the unions getting hot under the collar and threatening protests as a consequence may therefore be just that - hype. Some hotels and hotel chains are in good enough shape to effect changes, but many are not.
One reason why owners want to sell hotels and why it is proving difficult to do so and would also prove difficult to convert them is because they are that old that the cost of conversion would be nigh on prohibitive. Buyers are unlikely to take on hotels that demand significant investment in addition to what are sales tags which are too high. Like with many restaurants or bars that are for sale, the expectations of owners are unrealistic, based on past or expected performance and divorced from the circumstances that now obtain.
Bellevue, though taken on by Posibilitum, is a case in point when it comes to old stock. The complex, all 1400 apartments of it, is nearly 40 years old. Its sheer size is a constraint on renovation as is its age, but renovation is badly needed. Bellevue has acquired a more diverse market over the past few years - it isn't the ultra-Brit complex it once was - but it tends to be hotels for the British market in the resorts of Alcúdia and Magalluf that are the oldest and which attract less profit because of the very nature of the particular market they cater for. Another reason, therefore, why prospective buyers might be wary.
A further reason is the complexity of financing arrangements and ownership issues. The travel and hotel group Orizonia had, still has as far as I am aware, a mortgage on Bellevue which was raised as a guarantee against a debt to the company run up by the previous owners, the now bust Grupo Marsans. And there is a similar story with Hotasa.
Bank funding requires security, and in the case of Hotasa, the house has well and truly been bet. The court bankruptcy proceedings relating to Nueva Rumasa have revealed the scale of the mortgages that hang over Hotasa. One hotel alone, Santa Fe in Can Picafort, has been used as a guarantee four times, to which can be added the embargo slapped on it by the Hacienda in respect of a debt of some 120,000 euros. In total, the seven Hotasa hotels in the Balearics have mortgages valued at just short of 138 million euros, three and a half times the size of the mortgage debt said to be owed to Orizonia.
The judge presiding over the proceedings has been obliged to appoint five administrators because of the sheer complexity of the hotels' affairs. The labyrinth of different companies in addition to the various mortgages would surely make a purchaser riding to Hotasa's aid, be it Posibilitum or any other, pause while the administrators try and unravel the affairs. Hotasa may be a specific case, but who's to say what complexity might apply to other hotels or hotel groups and which might add to deterring prospective purchasers.
Outdated, unprofitable, underfunded, debt-ridden: the reasons why there are so few buyers for hotels and why the much-hoped-for conversions may yet never take place.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Hotasa hotels will open in May
The six Mallorcan hotels of the Hotasa chain that belongs to the troubled Nueva Rumasa group will all open by the start of May (the Beverly Playa in Peguera has already opened). This is the reassurance from the director general of Hotasa to the employees' union. The hotels include three in Can Picafort and two in Calas de Mallorca.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Nueva Rumasa hotels declared insolvent
The six hotels in Mallorca that belong to Nueva Rumasa and which are operated by Hotasa have been declared insolvent. This means that the hotels will have up to four months to attempt to negotiate their debts with creditors. The hotels concerned are: Beverly Playa (Peguera); Clumba Mar (Can Picafort); Eurocalas (Calas de Mallorca); Samoa (Calas de Mallorca); Santa Fe (Can Picafort); Sarah (Can Picafort).
Monday, March 14, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Beverly Playa staff not been paid
Personnel at the Peguera hotel Beverly Playa have been protesting today because they have not been paid for February, the month during which they were preparing the hotel for its March opening. This hotel is part of Hotasa, the chain that belongs to Nueva Rumasa, and news of the employees' non-payment just heaps further concern onto the troubled company and worries about the other hotels in the Hotasa chain.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Nueva Rumasa employees protest
Some 3,000 employees of the conglomerate Nueva Rumasa have taken part today in a demonstration in Madrid, calling for their jobs to be defended. Nueva Rumasa, with 30 companies facing bankruptcy, now faces additional problems with its cheese-production company in Menorca, Quesería Menorquina. Employees there have been on paid leave for five days, the consequence of there not being raw materials for production. Leading supermarkets have confirmed that they have been affected by supply disruptions.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - No interest in buying Hotasa hotels
Leading hotel chains in Spain and Mallorca have been expressing no interest in acquiring the hotels of the Hotasa chain, including the three in Can Picafort, which have been put up for sale by the troubled Nueva Rumasa group.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Nueva Rumasa hotels not at risk
According to the troubled Nueva Rumasa group which owns the Hotasa chain, hotels such as Clumba Mar in Can Picafort will operate normally this season. Nueva Rumasa says that preparations for opening Hotasa hotels are going ahead as usual.
Friday, February 18, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Clumba Mar and Can Picafort hotels at risk
The Nueva Rumasa group of companies, which owns the Hotasa chain of hotels, is in danger of collapsing. The conglomerate has filed for bankruptcy protection and will seek to find a solution to its debt problem said to be as high as 700 million euros. Hotasa is the chain to which three Can Picafort hotels belong - Clumba Mar, Santa Fe and Sarah.
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