ANFI SALES and ANFI RESORT. How their insolvency process began.

The insolvency proceedings in which Anfi Sales, S.L. and Anfi Resorts, S.L. (hereinafter AS and AR) are involved are classified as "necessary insolvency proceedings" as opposed to "voluntary insolvency proceedings". In the latter case, it is requested by the insolvent company itself, whereas in the former case it is requested by a creditor. In this case, the creditor was the company Isla Marina, S.L. (hereinafter IM). The insolvency proceedings were filed in February 2020 but the Order declaring the insolvency proceedings did not arrive until 21 September 2021, partly due to the pandemic suffered and the technical and documentary complexity of the application and the oppositions raised by AS and AR.

It should be recalled that AS and AR have their share capital divided 50/50 between Grupo Santana Cazorla, S.L., (hereinafter GSC), on the one side, and ANFI BV (49.99%) and the IFA group (0.01%), on the other.

The blocking situation in the board of directors is evident, although GSC had special shares, the class A shares, which gave it a double vote to decide, specifically, on the formulation of the annual accounts, the hiring and dismissal of the general manager, the planning and approval of the annual budget, the calling of meetings and approval of the board's minutes and the appointment of the chairman of the board of directors, among others.

Therefore, and as we have said, IM requested the declaration of insolvency of AS and AR after buying a syndicated loan (a type of loan granted by several banks to a lender) and become creditor for the defaulted amount of 29,534,740.03 euros. IM did not want to refinance this debt and did not want to accept as payment the assets that had been given as collateral for this loan, whereas AS and AR, on the other hand, did not have the capacity to pay such a high amount.

In its statement of opposition, AS wanted to make clear the control that Mr. Eustasio López Santana exercises over the Anfi group through the LOPESAN group. They also argued that it is Mr Eustasio López González who manages IM by indirectly holding most of its share capital. On the other hand, also according to AS, Don Eustasio manages and controls ANFI BV and LYNG CENTRO, which own 50% of AS and AR, as we have already seen.

It is clear that we are in a struggle between two business consortia, GSC and LOPESAN, for control of Anfi and its business.

In addition to this delicate situation in relation to the syndicated loan, the Commercial Judge was also faced with the enormous amount of existing legal claims requesting the nullity of timeshare contracts in which AS and AR have been condemned and which already accumulate millionaire debts that cannot be paid. At the end of 2018, AS and AR had provided in their Annual Accounts, for this section, the amount of 19,400,00.00, although as of 21 February 2021, the amount recognised was 37,801,132.90 euros, from 1,750 claims, of which 1,386 had already been sentenced, while 364 had not yet been sentenced.

In view of all the above, the Judge declared, by means of an Order, the necessary insolvency proceedings of AS and AR, appointing Par Conditio, S.L.P. as insolvency administrator, at which point the Common Phase of the insolvency proceedings began. On the different phases of the insolvency proceedings you can read more here.