We start the week with our final episode of “Anfi: The Story Behind the News”. It began with the “dream” of one man, it was certainly a vision that was becoming reality, but unfortunately, all that was to change. Then there was the brief partnership with Tui, which gave rise to the takeover by Santana Cazorla. Since that time, we have seen many boardroom clashes, court battles and the instigation of many investigations into Anfi and the controlling party. Today we highlight the latest in those battles and once again it is the Cazorla’s against Lopesan.
We begin with a case first published in September 2021, which has revealed many possibilities, but the motive behind it all is what made it more interesting.
Mercantile Court Las Palmas
The case was heard in The Mercantile Courts of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, this is after a long battle that has been quietly raging behind closed doors. In one corner is Cazorla, in the other Lopesan, and the stakes are high.
The case ended before the Courts as Lopesan argued for the involuntary bankruptcy of Anfi Sales SL and Anfi Resorts SL. It has fallen on Magistrate Alberto López Vallarubia to decide on the matter.
He must now decide if these companies have sufficient assets to service their short-term debts, if not their insolvency should be declared. This would mean the appointment of a court administrator to manage the liquidation or salvage the companies. According to our sources, the appointed administrators would rather find a solution such as selling off the company.
The case has been brought by another of the Lopesan companies Isla Marina SL which is also a creditor of the two named companies. They claim this debt is around 30 million euros.
So this brings us to our original question, motive.
We all know or suspect that Lopesan via their German arm IFA would love to establish full control over Anfi, we also suspect that the Lyng family would also welcome that news.
According to the discussions we had at the time, with those more akin to business matters, this certainly looks like what they termed a “hostile” takeover. The more the discussion continued the more examples kept appearing, not just in timeshare but right across the board.
Could this be their “legal” way of gaining control of Anfi?
As we stated, the appointed administrator must find a solution, selling the company to pay off a debt or part of a debt is one possibility. Lopesan buys the companies, if they take over these two companies they may have a little more leverage, or would this leave Lopesan liable to all Anfi members with cases at court?
At the time it was all speculation, this is just one scenario albeit a very plausible one, but you will hear and be told some stories in the coming months until the courts make their decision public. We have a long wait until the Court Appointed Administrator continues their attempt to make heads & tails of it all.
Since the first publishing, there is still no real news from the Court Administrator, the case is still ongoing. As with the Silverpoint case, there is a great deal of work to trace and locate any funds. If you have a case against Anfi, your own legal representatives will have informed you of any developments. Cold calls will only speculate and manipulate what they know to get the sale.
The Anfi Boardroom has been no stranger to some heated discussions over the years, if only the walls could talk. Spain’s Courts have also been busy with many other cases, the most notable are the timeshare contracts, one that has cost the company dearly. We have seen the Lyngs in court against the Cazorlas, the Lopesans and their subsidiaries against the Cazorla Group, and the only winners have been the lawyers and the courts, all needed paying.
The whole Anfi story is not over yet, the Court Administrator has yet to issue his final judgement, the investigation into Tauro Beach has not been completed and then there are the possible indictments. We must also not forget the hundreds of claimants who are owed money awarded by the Courts for illegal contracts, some have been waiting several years already.
You can read the last report on the liquidation of Anfi which was published on 12 September 2022 at the following link
The following links are to the Court Administrators Report dated 13 April 2022
Anfi Administrators Report Spanish
Anfi Administrators Report English
We hope you all had a great weekend, Baby Dog decided to have long bouts of sleep broken by the zoomies or playing with his toys, wrecking a tidy sofa in the process.
