On November 24, 2017, the Arbitration Courts of Moscow and the Sverdlovsk Region registered Gazprombank's claims on the bankruptcy of a number of dealer centers that are part of the Independence Group. The Bank had previously announced its intentions in relation to a dozen dealers of the Group of Companies (among them were Volvo, Audi and Peugeot dealers). The total debt of the Group is estimated at about 6 billion rubles ...
Recall that in July 2017, the Group of Companies closed its Land Rover Center on Leningradskoye Highway and KIA and Volvo centers in Yekaterinburg. In September, BMW disconnected "Independence" from the car ordering system (and in November it became known that the place of the former BMW dealership in Belaya Dacha of the "Independence" group would be taken by the "Avilon" car dealer). In October, Volvo Car Russia terminated the contract with GK. In mid-November, Nezavisimost disappeared from the list of official Mazda dealers in Russia (on the official website of Mazda's distributor in Russia, Mazda Motor Rus).
However, the process of the auto giant's fall began much earlier than 2017 ...
Heyday
In, published by the analytical agency AUTOSTAT in 2016, a separate block is devoted to the Independence Group, which for a long time was one of the five largest automotive holdings in Russia. And from chapter to chapter, you can clearly see how beautifully the group began (June 12, 1992), how it gradually developed even during the 2008 crisis, how it expanded its brand portfolio.
It sold cars of the brands Volvo (since 1992), Audi (since 1998), Ford (since 2000), Land Rover (since 2002), Volkswagen (since 2002), Jaguar (since 2003 g.), Mazda (since 2004), Peugeot (since 2007), BMW (since 2008), Porsche (in 2010, but not for long), KIA (since 2011). And having launched her own, at that time the largest in Europe, body repair center, she was able to take on service not only her own brands, but also Chevrolet, Opel, Skoda.
In the best years, the network of dealer centers of this group included 18 car dealerships in Moscow and the Moscow region, 9 in Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region, 4 in Ufa and Bashkortostan. At the same time, the image of Nezavisimosti was supported not only by the financial indicators of the owners (in 2006, one of the owners, Roman Tchaikovsky, was included in the rating of Russian billionaires for the first time), but also by the volume of sales (for example, in 2012, the Group sold about 42 thousand new cars, in 2013 - about 36 thousand units), revenue (2011 - 44.5 billion rubles, 2012 - 57 billion rubles, 2013 - 51 billion rubles, 2014 - 47 billion rubles, 2015 - 33.4 billion rubles) and more than 150 prestigious industry awards and prizes confirming the leadership of the Group in the field of service and sales.
The company was among the first on the market to start working with used cars. So, already in 2009, "Nezavisimost" managed to sell 2,100 used cars and even singled out work with them into a separate business line "Independence-Intrade". At first, this division had 11 technically equipped small sites in Moscow, but a couple of years later on the territory of the MEGA-Belaya Dacha shopping center, a large multi-brand center for 250 cars was opened for it and the construction of an even larger site began. "Dealer village" on the Kiev highway.
Meanwhile, on the basis of the body center, a new direction, AvtoMarin, was opened - a repair line for owners of yachts, boats and jet skis, and for the broader development of its own financial services (crediting, insurance, leasing, appraisal and fleet management), the company created a separate division, Independence -Finservice "(in 2011, the turnover of this division alone exceeded 1,700 million rubles).
All this, taken together, allowed the GC to survive the crisis years better than the auto retail market as a whole. Together with other leaders, “Independence increased its share ...
The beginning of the fall
Just five years ago, in 2012, in terms of revenue (RUB 57 billion), Nezavisimost was one of the five largest auto retailers on the Russian market. But already in 2013, despite a series of efforts to reorganize the business, a 10% reduction in staff, promotion and development of auto service and financial services related to sales, it took only sixth place in terms of revenue in the rating table of auto retailers and seventh in terms of sales.
In 2014, the Group of Companies is still in the top ten (it is in 7th place). However, new car sales fell by almost a quarter (despite the fact that the market as a whole declined by only 10%). Experts suggested that the holding has a too large share of brands, which fell by 20-40% (Ford, Peugeot, Volkswagen, BMW).
Instead of implementing plans for the previously announced further development by opening centers in the regions, the Group begins to optimize its business. A number of Mitsubishi and Peugeot centers have been closed. For Peugeot, sales of new cars were suspended even in Moscow, only a service contract was left. In the capital, the GC begins to form cluster-type dealerships, deciding to present several brands in one building (on Entuziastov highway, on Yaroslavskoye highway, on Leningradskoye highway).
In the spring of 2015, the Group had its first serious debts to banks, but at first it somehow managed to come to an agreement. In terms of revenue in 2015, the company dropped to 11th place, and in terms of new car sales - to 18th. In 2015, Nezavisimost stopped working with Mitsubishi (closing all brand centers in the cities of its presence), in February 2016, two of six Ford centers suffered the same fate ...
At the end of 2016, the company sold a total of 9.1 thousand new cars, which is 27.5% less than a year earlier. Sales of used cars through the holding's dealerships amounted to 5.3 thousand units (-14.8%).
What will happen?
In September 2017, the media leaked information that the Independence Group of Companies was negotiating debt restructuring with the main creditors, the process was in an active stage, and consultants and auditors were involved in it. In the rare comments made to journalists, there was hope that acceptable solutions would be found. “The Nezavisimost group of companies is optimizing its business, commented the chairman of the board of directors Roman Tchaikovsky,“ it will allow us to concentrate on working with the most successful brands - Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo, Mazda, etc. ”.
However, in the same September it became known about the delays of "Independence" in issuing paid BMW and Volvo cars to buyers. And soon representatives of BMW admitted that they had disconnected the Independence order system and started to remove cars from the center.
Peugeot, as Kommersant reporters told at the end of September, explained to them that there were no claims from buyers for the issue of cars by Nezavisimost, but then added that the contract with the dealer expires at the end of the year, and the issue of its extension is under consideration. In Jaguar Land Rover "Kommersant" only noticed that "Independence" is an official dealer, but now it does not sell cars.
As for Volvo, since August 2017, having switched to prepayment in settlements with the dealer, the manufacturer made a statement in October: “Taking into account the reputation and other losses that Volvo Cars incurs in connection with the current situation, we do not see an opportunity to continue cooperation with the company. "Independence".
In mid-November, the distributor of Mazda cars in Russia, Mazda Motor Rus, suspended cooperation with the auto dealer Nezavisimost in terms of sales of new Mazda cars. On his website, "Independence" is no longer in the list of official dealers.
Gazprombank has filed bankruptcy claims against the companies of the Nezavisimost group of car dealerships, Interfax reported, citing materials from a file of arbitration cases. And then "Vedomosti" said that on November 24, the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region registered the bank's claims for bankruptcy of LLC "Independence Nedvizhimost Ural", LLC "Independence Yekaterinburg M", LLC "Independence Yekaterinburg K" and on the same day the Arbitration Court of Moscow registered claims on the bankruptcy of OOO Nezavisimost MC, OOO Masterpromtorg, OOO Nezavisimost - used cars, OOO Nezavisimost - Khimki.
That apart from Gazprombank, which has filed a lawsuit against Nezavismost, the GC has another major creditor - Sberbank.
Auto dealer "Independence" has stopped selling cars in its metropolitan showrooms. The group, against which the bankruptcy lawsuit was filed, has several centers in the regions
The car dealer group "Independence" has closed the last points of car sales in Moscow. This was told to RBC by a source close to the group, and confirmed by a partner of the company. The representative of "Independence" confirmed to RBC the closure of all Moscow salons of the group.
The car dealer website and phone numbers of car dealerships are not working. According to the official websites of Audi and Volkswagen (the last two brands with which Nezavisimosti had dealer agreements), the company is no longer their official dealer. The representative of Volkswagen (unites the brands Volkswagen, Audi, etc.) said that there were no “changes in the status” of Independence: the company remains a dealer of its brands.
GK Independence bankruptcy 2017, sale of property
In Moscow, the auto dealer companies "Independence" have stopped selling cars completely. Loss of funds is possible for customers who have purchased a car on a prepayment basis. Several car dealerships in the regions continue to operate.
The site of "Nezavisimosti" is currently not working and the phones at the points of sale in the capital are silent. Nezavisimost is no longer listed as an official dealer on the Russian websites of the Volkswagen and Audi brands.
For the time being, the Ford showroom is operating in Yekaterinburg and Ufa, and Peugeot is in Yekaterinburg.
"Independence", bankruptcy
Gazprombank (GPB) has filed bankruptcy claims against a number of companies in the Nezavisimost group of car dealerships, according to a file of arbitration cases.
So, on November 24, GPB filed claims for bankruptcy of Independence Real Estate Ural LLC, Independence Yekaterinburg M LLC, Yekaterinburg K Independence LLC in the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region, as well as on the bankruptcy of Independence MC LLC, Masterpromtorg LLC , LLC "Independence - used cars", LLC "Independence - Khimki" to the Moscow Arbitration Court.
Earlier, the bank announced its intention to apply to the court with a bankruptcy petition of about 20 companies that are part of the structure of "Independence". The notices related to the companies of the Independence group in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Ufa, as well as controlled by the Cyprus Independence German Motors Limited and Independence Holdings Limited. In particular, among them were Volkswagen dealer Auto Hansa LLC, as well as Audi and Peugeot dealers.
Autosalon "Independence", scandal
In February, the shareholders of Nezavisimosti financed the company (the amount was not specified) and changed the top management. In 2015, "Nezavisimost" restructured its debt to Gazprombank by 2.6 billion rubles. (as Kommersant reported, the loan was extended until at least 2019). In A1 "Kommersant" noted that they are in the process of negotiations with banks, and about additional investments "it will be possible to speak only after their completion." Earlier, Interfax sources claimed that A1 refused to finance the dealer and would not prevent his bankruptcy if one of the counterparties initiates this process.
In A1, Kommersant was told that "historically they were a financial investor of the Independence Group" and were not involved in the company's operating activities. "
At the end of last year, the dealer's management announced the difficult financial situation in the company and requested financial support, which was provided, according to A1. “A1 actively supported the management in the process of negotiations with the creditor banks, but, unfortunately, as we see, the situation did not normalize,” the shareholders said.
Nezavisimost closed all its showrooms: on Monday it became known that the company has ceased to be the official representative of the Audi and Volkswagen brands. They were the last to work with the dealer. Prior to that, several other importers terminated their contracts with Nezavisimost. The company said that it had decided to cease operations because it had failed to agree with its creditors on debt restructuring. The dealer has worked in the market for 25 years; he had salons in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Ufa.
Nezavisimosti became aware of serious financial difficulties at the beginning of the year, its debts were estimated at 6 billion rubles. In September, several dozen of the dealer's customers complained that they could not get paid BMW cars. The German manufacturer banned the company from selling its cars, and gave the cars to the deceived customers at its own expense. In October, a similar situation occurred with Volvo's customers, and the brand deprived Nezavisimost of its dealer status. Later contracts with the company were broken by Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda and Mitsubishi. Ford and Peugeot plan to terminate the contracts by the end of the year.
In recent months, Nezavisimost has been negotiating with its main creditors - Sberbank and Gazprombank. A plan was discussed under which banks could become shareholders of the company. But on Monday it became known that Gazprombank had filed bankruptcy claims against the structures of Nezavisimosti for more than 2 billion rubles.
How will the closure of "Nezavisimost" affect its clients and the market as a whole? The dealer refused to disclose how many customers have already paid for the cars and still have not received them. According to the company's administrative director Sergei Chadin, this is an insignificant number. He expressed the hope that all automakers will meet the dealer halfway and give out cars to customers at their own expense: “For some customers, a decision was made to find funds, terminate contracts, work is underway with the rest. In particular, for Audi it was a favorable decision, the importer supported us. We are looking forward to Mazda, they are coordinating a position with the headquarters in Japan. We are working less favorably with Volvo, negotiations are still underway. Volkswagen should resolve this issue with the help of importers. "
Muscovites will hardly feel the departure from the Nezavisimosti market. Cars of the brands that were presented by the dealer can still be purchased, said Dmitry Chumakov, CEO of the marketing and sociological research agency Vector Market Research: “Most of Nezavisimosti's business is still concentrated around the Moscow region. There are quite a few dealerships here for each of the car manufacturers. Yes, in terms of after-sales service in a certain region or area of \u200b\u200bthe city, the representation will be worse, you will have to travel to neighboring areas. But, nevertheless, from the point of view of the representation of cars of various foreign manufacturers, including those included in the portfolio of "Independence", there will be no significant damage to car buyers. "
Competitors have already begun to look closely at the Independence salons. For example, Avilon has already become interested in the Belaya Dacha center, which was selling BMW, Kommersant writes.
The company is negotiating with banks
Moscow. September 14. website - The Russian representative office of the German carmaker BMW - "BMW Group Russia" - states that the auto dealer "Independence" "faced a number of complex problems that led to the dealer's failure to comply with the agreements and the subsequent suspension of his work."
As stated in the message of the automaker, because of this, the terms of transfer of the purchased cars to customers were violated. At the moment, negotiations are underway with the dealer to find a way out of the current situation, envisaging various scenarios, "up to the most cardinal ones."
At the same time, BMW asks all buyers who have encountered a violation of the delivery time of the car to contact the company's customer support service, or representatives of the BMW Group Russia will contact the customers themselves after clarifying all the details.
"At present, in parallel with the collection of information in order to ensure the safety of vehicles owned by BMW Group Russia, cars are being removed from the Independence Center. Only their presence in other guarded parking spaces can provide new owners with confidence in the fastest receipt your car safe and sound. The interests of customers are of paramount importance to BMW Group Russia, and the company is making every effort to ensure that they are met as much as possible, "the message says.
On the eve of the newspaper "Vedomosti" with reference to the representative of "Independence" wrote that the group had suspended the sale of BMW cars. According to her, the activities of two dealerships in Moscow are blocked by the importer. BMW disconnected Nezavisimost from the car ordering system, confirmed a representative of BMW Group Russia - according to him, some of the dealer's clients complained to the importer about the impossibility of receiving already paid cars - Nezavisimost did not buy the vehicle from the importer.
The representative of "Nezavisimosti" confirmed that at the moment the dealerships of "BMW - Nezavisimosti" are indeed closed, "but this does not mean that we are suspending the dialogue with the importer's representation." “We remain committed to fully meeting all our obligations to our customers. The customer, of course, should not suffer from the current situation between the dealer and the importer. We continue to engage in constructive dialogue with BMW in the interests of our customers. We do our best to provide customers with cars in the near future, "the company said.
Funding problems
At the same time, according to sources of "Interfax" in the car dealership industry, the company is experiencing problems with financing, a number of dealerships have already closed, including Land Rover, Volvo and Volkswagen in Moscow, as well as centers in Ufa and Yekaterinburg.
“On other centers of these brands, decisions have either already been made or are at the stage of adoption,” the agency's source said, adding that dealerships will be closed in October. Nezavisimosti itself does not confirm this. "The shareholders of the company have decided to concentrate sales of Audi in two auto centers in Moscow. At the moment we are completing the second stage of optimization. This is primarily due to the fact that the Independence Group is concentrating its efforts on increasing the profitability of the business," the company representative said. noting that "the need to change locations is also associated with the specifics of the automotive market." "In difficult economic conditions for dealers, we prefer to abandon unprofitable locations in favor of new, potentially more comfortable places for doing business," he added, noting also that the company "is forming cluster-type dealerships, where several brands of cars will be presented." ... "According to the new strategy of the group, some brands will be represented only in the Russian regions," he said, without giving other details.
At the same time, another Interfax source said that Nezavisimosti's shareholder, A1 investment company, refused to finance the car dealer and would not prevent the company's bankruptcy if one of the counterparties initiates this process. “Among the possible scenarios for the development of events is the sale of the company, however, most likely, this will be done in parts - there are no applicants for the whole business,” said the source of Interfax.
In turn, the representative of A1 noted that "although the situation in the industry is improving, the consequences of the three-year crisis are still felt." "Work is underway to restructure the current indebtedness of the Independence Group. The car dealer works in partnership with creditor banks to implement operational and strategic initiatives aimed at stabilizing the group's financial position. Group companies have a positive experience in overcoming such situations," he said.
At the same time, the amount of the restructured debt, as well as the names of banks in the company, are not named.
According to information on pledges in the "" system, among the banks-creditor of legal entities, which are owned by the Cyprus Independence Holdings Limited, there are Alfa-Bank, Promsvyazbank, Bank International Financial Club.
In June 2015, it was reported that the Independence Group had restructured its debt to Gazprombank (GPB) by 2.6 billion rubles. According to Kommersant, the Independence loan at the State Budgetary Enterprise was then extended at least until 2019.
In February 2017, it was reported that the shareholders of the Nezavisimost Group had made a decision on additional financing for the company and the appointment of a new CEO. "This decision will provide the necessary liquidity reserve for the implementation of plans for further development and improving the quality of customer service," - said in the message of the dealer. The volume of additional investments was not disclosed.
In addition, since February 1, 2017, the general director of the company has changed - Elena Zhuravleva was replaced by Nikita Shchegol, who for four years headed the Formula Kino cinema chain. "The priority tasks for the new general director of the Independence Group will be to improve operational efficiency, improve market positions, and take customer service to a new level," said Roman Tchaikovsky, chairman of the board of Nezalezhnosti.
The Independence Group was founded in 1992. The company's dealer portfolio includes the brands Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Ford, Mazda, Peugeot, Mitsubishi, Kia. The dealer network included 17 car dealerships in Moscow, three in Yekaterinburg and two in Ufa. The main shareholders are A1 (owns 49.95% of the company), the rest belongs to the founder of the group, Roman Tchaikovsky.
Nezavisimost, a multi-brand car dealer selling and servicing cars, no longer sells in Moscow: its metropolitan salons are closed, phones do not answer, and such brands as BMW, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda and Mitsubishi tore up the dealer contracts signed with him... The regional centers of the company still cooperate with Audi, Volkswagen, Ford and Peugeot, but this partnership will end in December.
The group's debt to creditors - Gazprombank and Sberbank, according to RBC, reached 6 billion rubles. Possibilities of debt restructuring were studied, but this turned out to be impossible, and in November Gazprombank filed bankruptcy lawsuits against a number of Nezavisimosti structures.
During the bankruptcy proceedings, arbitration managers will be appointed who will take inventory and dispose of the property of the group of companies in order to settle the claims of creditors. The liquidation of "Nezavisimosti" due to its large portfolio of assets may take up to two years. As noted in the market, creditors can expect to return only 30% of the debt - in the current situation, it is very difficult to sell dealerships as real estate objects. However, the capital's car center of the BMW group is ready to save Avilon. Genser is showing interest in some centers, having closed several of its own centers due to the fact that they were on lease. This, by the way, became the reason for the severance of relations with Renault's Genser.
Back in October, BMW Russland Trading took out the cars paid for by Nezavisimosti's clients, as it did not wait for the dealer's money for them. But in the representative office of the Bavarian company, they began to issue cars at their own expense, sorting out in each case individually.
Buyers of other brands of cars were less fortunate. Now they will have to go to court to get money back or get cars. The first hearings on the case will be held shortly.
The financial difficulties of the Independence Group began several years ago due to the fall of the car market. This year, numerous complaints from customers began to arrive that the company was not giving away already paid cars. In October, the employees announced the closure of the metropolitan points of sale, and the severance pay for several months of work amounted to 20 thousand rubles. At first, the employees were going to sue, but realizing how deplorable the state of affairs the company is, and the fact that as a result they will spend more effort than they will receive compensation, they changed their minds.
- The association, in which it asks to maintain state support for the automotive industry in 2018, otherwise all dealers will face difficult times.
- In 2016, 300 dealers left the market, it is expected that by the end of this year, the reasons for bankruptcies were low business margins.
