Gelated during the judicial recovery, the debts of the Girondins constitute the major issue for the coming months. Their reduction will depend on the expected arrival of investors alongside or in place of the current owner, Gérard Lopez. And therefore the future of the club.
1 The objective: to fall to less than 30 million euros
On July 23, 2024, the DNCG estimated the club's debt at 118 million euros. Following the opening of judicial recovery, each debt must be declared then validated or contested with the agent or the commercial court. The “real” amount of liabilities may therefore decrease. Knowing that we must subtract 15 million after the victory at the industrial tribunal against Vladimir Petkovic, or even the 40 million owed to Gérard Lopez, who agreed to give it up… until the return to the professional level.
It is difficult to assess to what extent this liability will be compressed. There is in any case a threshold since everything relating to salaries (reimbursement of AGS, between 5 and 8 million), the public treasury and the tax authorities (Urssaf, taxes, VAT, for 12.5 million) and the financing of the procedure (fees of the judicial administrators and the agent) cannot be reduced. Not to mention the remaining drafts on old transfers (7 million) which other clubs will probably not give up.
Other creditors, particularly local businesses that have not been paid for services, are unlikely to be entitled to much. “It could be a butchery,” predicts a regular at commercial courts. All this put together, it seems difficult to consider falling below 20 or even 25 million euros. The plan proposed by the club management must still be approved.
2 The method: the class of affected parts
Subject to agreement from the commercial court, the club divides its approximately 300 creditors into “classes of affected parties”, generally seven or eight, depending on the types of debt. The company then offers an amount and a repayment period (up to ten years) for each class. The decision to accept or reject the plan is taken by a two-thirds majority of the amount of the claims, during a vote organized class by class.
The privileged creditors, mentioned above, are still well off. The others are inevitably offered a very significant discount. But they may have an interest in accepting: it is sometimes better to receive 10% of the amount due rather than refusing and taking the risk that the company will then be liquidated. Even if some classes do not vote in favor of the plan, the commercial court can impose it.
To do this, the proposed plan must respect the principle of “the best interests of creditors”: they cannot find themselves in a less favorable situation with this plan than in the event of liquidation, or if an alternative proposal from an interested buyer is a better bidder. “We do not have a quantified objective but we will produce a credible copy,” said Laurent Cotret, the club’s lawyer, last month.
3 The calendar: a plan to be submitted on April 15
“We will start this work at the beginning of December,” continued Laurent Cotret. We are there. After distribution of creditors, reflection on the financial strategy to adopt, proposal of a plan to the different classes and voting, the objective is to submit the recovery plan to the commercial court around April 15. There follows a procedural deadline of 45 days which will lead to possible approval at the end of May or the beginning of June.
If the Girondins get the green light, they will have a few weeks ahead of them to sort out the numerous administrative formalities (even just the documents to establish new debts, deadlines and payment conditions) and… prepare for their hearing before the DNCG . Because the plan and the first reimbursements will inevitably impact next season's budget. A large part of the AGS must also be reimbursed upon approval of the plan.
This calendar also allows for room to maneuver in the event of refusal of management's plan. The weeks of June could be used to initiate a sale or liquidation, so that the club is ready in time to restart, probably at a (much) lower level, the 2025-2026 financial year.
