Libani Publications: The dire situation and the way of the auction

of Matinas Harkoftaki

One of the most difficult chapters in its history has been experienced in recent years by the renowned publishing house Lebanon, which seems to have bent under the weight of large financial obligations.

The poor performance of the publishing house as a result of the financial crisis of the last decade as well as the steady downward trends of the book and the printed editions in the digital age have led the Libani Publications to strive to stay alive with the margins, however, constantly narrowing. .

The numbers, after all, are relentless and reflect a difficult reality. Specifically, in 2020 the former listed company saw its turnover be reduced to 1.504 million euros – to this contributed the negative conjuncture of the pandemic – compared to 3.384 million euros that had risen in 2019 when its turnover for example in 2011 reached 10.8 million euros.

The picture of its net results, which have been moving in the area of ​​losses for several years, is also negative. In terms of the last financial years in 2020, the losses increased to 2.574 million euros compared to losses of 800 thousand euros in 2019, at the same time that its short-term bank liabilities reach 15.8 million euros while on fixed assets notes of the order of 12.7 million euros have been registered.

The consolidation plan left on paper

We remind you that in March 2018 the publishing house submitted an application for ratification of a consolidation agreement before the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance with the support of its bank creditors.

The relevant trial took place in May of the same year, while a few months later the Multi-Member Court of First Instance issued a decision in favor of the company, accepting the request for ratification of the consolidation agreement in its entirety.

However, for its part, the publishing house did not fulfill its commitments, failing, at the same time, to implement the consolidation plan, as a result of which the creditor banks terminated the consolidation contract, which paved the way for the claimants.

In addition, in October 2019, the company submitted an application under the law on “Out-of-court corporate debt settlement mechanism and other provisions”, for the restructuring of its debts, which was notified to the creditor banks.

According to the publishing house, the evaluation of this application is still in progress, although so far the restructuring proposal has received the positive vote of 43.95% of its creditors.

What comes out of the hammer

As the situation has developed, the fact that the name of Ilias Libanis, the son of the founder of the publishing house Antonis Libanis and one of the main shareholders of the group with a percentage of 34%, has recently been faced with the vortex of electronic auctions, does not come as a surprise.

Specifically, on June 1, 2022, it is planned to hammer out an apartment in Filothei, which belongs to Mr. Libanis. The price of the first offer has been set at 590,000 euros while the National Bank is in a hurry.

This apartment, which is part of a three-storey building, is located on the first floor and has a total area of ​​258.40 sq.m. and percentage of co-ownership in the whole plot 267.90 / 1000.

As pointed out in the assessment report, the area in which it is located is characterized by a steep slope while the apartment has an unobstructed view. It should be noted that the plot, on which the building has been erected, is located within an approved plan of the municipality of Filothei, is even, buildable and has an area of ​​1,070.00 sq.m.

Finally, regarding the demand for real estate in this area, the report states that it is very limited as it is overshadowed by the availability of real estate for sale.