Austria branch in bankruptcy for a long time. 51 employees and more than 50 creditors were affected by the bankruptcy.
Maredo Germany
After the corona-related closure of its restaurants, the insolvent restaurant chain Maredo made a radical cut and laid off its workforce. Because there is hardly any liquidity left for the payment of wages and salaries, one is forced to take this step, according to a letter from the executive floor to the employees. “Due to closed restaurants, we have had zero sales since the beginning of November, but the existing fixed costs continue and the pressure is increasing.”
Since state economic aid had not been approved, “we are now running out of time”. All rental contracts were terminated as of December 31st, now the staff is affected.
In Austria, the chain had already slipped into bankruptcy with two restaurants in June. 51 employees and more than 50 creditors were affected by the bankruptcy.
For reasons of insolvency law there is no alternative, according to the letter signed by managing director Klaus Farrenkopf and insolvency administrator Nikolaos Antoniadis in Germany. The industry portal “Food Service” had previously reported. Only a rump group in the company administration continues to work for the time being.
The company, founded in 1973 and based in Düsseldorf, filed for insolvency in March 2020. 15 out of 35 restaurants were closed, around half of the approximately 950 employees had to leave at the time. Then things went up, according to the insolvency administrator. The remaining restaurants were well attended.
“The sales development was positive under the given circumstances”, says Antoniadis – the company was “on a very good and promising path”. In addition, talks with investors were promising and well advanced.
But then the Corona closings came at the beginning of November. After the setback, Maredo sent his employees on short-time work. Two requests for help from the top of the company to the federal and state governments did not help, the state did not provide the necessary help. “That is bitter and disappointing,” says Antoniadis. Maredo is now dismissing around 450 employees – “as soon as possible”.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics said no to financial aid in the case of Maredo by stating that companies that are in bankruptcy proceedings are excluded from the November and December aid: “State aid law sets limits for companies that are already in before the crisis have encountered economic difficulties. “
The entire gastronomy has been hit hard by the consequences of the pandemic, other companies are also under pressure – competitor Vapiano also went bankrupt in 2020. According to initial estimates by the Federal Statistical Office, Germany's hoteliers and hosts lost 38 percent of their sales in real terms last year due to the various corona restrictions.
And what's next with Maredo? The prospects are bleak. “Whether Maredo still has a future is uncertain,” says insolvency administrator Antoniadis, pointing out that the end of the corona-related gastro closings is not yet in sight. The Maredo creditors' committee decided to close the business.
“Now it's all about the Maredo brand,” says the lawyer. That means: restaurants with the Maredo logo could also exist in the future. But they would have little to do with the current company – it would rather be bars of a company that has bought the use of the Maredo brand.
From the point of view of industry experts, the crisis is partly homemade. The editor-in-chief of the industry portal “Food Service”, Boris Tomic, points out that the company was already in trouble before the corona crisis.
“Nonetheless, Maredo is a well-known name in the industry with a long tradition. Accordingly, there is great horror in the industry when such a company disappears from the scene.” The end is also due to the fact that corona aid has not been paid. Therefore, Maredo could also be a negative example of what threatens other companies if the state does not give financial injections, said Tomic.
