The meetings punctuate the Girondins season (almost) as regularly as the National 2 matches. One week before the hearing at the end of the first observation period, the vice-president Arnaud De Carli, the general director Arnaud Saint-André, the manager Guy Cotret, the club’s lawyer Laurent Cotret and the judicial administrators will be at the commercial court this Tuesday to meet the commissioner judge and sweep the file. What we know.
1 On January 21, a hearing to extend the relief
Four days after the filing for bankruptcy of the limited company Girondins de Bordeaux, the commercial court agreed to open a judicial recovery procedure, beginning with an initial observation period of six months during which debts are frozen to allow the time to renegotiate them. The company must then “only” operate without creating new debts, under the supervision of the court and its representatives (judicial administrator to help with management; agent representing the creditors; judge-commissioner for monitoring). This six-month observation period, renewable once (or even a second exceptionally) and validated during the progress updates on September 17 and October 29, ends on January 30.
Next Tuesday, the jury will decide whether or not it agrees to open a new one, until July 30. The main challenge for the club is to show that it will have the cash flow to cover its operating costs until then. While the renegotiation of debts was launched at the beginning of December, it will also be a question of presenting a first “landing” of these two months of discussions to show the court that a continuation plan, beyond the second period of observation, is really possible.
2 Accounting situation: Gérard Lopez paid the expected million
The point was crucial. At the beginning of January, Gérard Lopez made the promised contribution of around one million euros in order to add to the club’s treasury. According to several sources, the Girondins also received the factoring (advance by a bank) of the second payment of the transfer of Zuriko Davitashvili to Saint-Etienne (870,000 euros) and their profit-sharing on the annual draft (1.1 million euros ) of the transfer of Jules Koundé from Sevilla to Barcelona. These funds should in particular make it possible to settle the redundancy compensation from the social plan which exceeded the ceiling of coverage by the AGS (salary guarantee scheme), amounted to 3.56 million euros. In recent days, several employees were still waiting to be paid in full, sometimes several tens of thousands of euros. As such, they sent an alert letter to the President of the Court and the prosecutor.
Uncertainties are inevitable: ticket revenue, in particular, depending on whether the club plays the climb to the last matches at Matmut or not. Recruiting new players? Internally, we ensure that the surplus payroll for the current financial year is planned on the cash flow plan and still falls within the framework of the DNCG, with which a progress update must be made in February.
For the future, the managers hope to reduce the debts below 30 million euros (possibly spread out over 10 years). Of the 118 million mentioned by the Court on July 30, 38 million had already been abandoned by Gérard Lopez (with a return to better fortune clause in the event of return to L2), when the community council had already voted on September 26 for a rescheduling of the payment of 25 million euros in rent due to the Metropolis between October 15, 2026 and 2045. Around twenty million euros (Urssaf, taxes, VAT, AGS) are irreducible.
3 For a possible sale, we will still have to wait
The recovery plan (how much is paid to which creditors, and in how long) will be submitted to the court in mid-April for approval 45 days later, that is to say at the end of May or beginning of June, in order to prepare the hearing before the DNCG at the end of June relating to next season. One point is important: as soon as the recovery plan is approved by the court, the club will have to reimburse the AGS (around 8 million euros advanced), which can also grant an installment for part of the sum.
The remaining amount of debt will necessarily have an impact on the future and the strategy of Gérard Lopez. As part of a so-called continuation plan, three options are possible: financing alone, attempt to find a minority partner who would agree to join forces with it for financing, transfer of the majority of the club’s shares to a buyer who would accept to shoulder the burden. In any case, if the subject will inevitably be raised on January 21, an entry into the capital before the end of the debt renegotiation seems improbable to say the least.
Equipment manufacturer
Signed under the presidency of Frédéric Longupée in 2020, the contract with the equipment manufacturer Adidas – also including the distribution and management of stores by the company Full Ace – ends next June. According to our information, discussions for the future are well advanced for a new contract with drawers depending on the level of the club, with a match between the brand with the three stripes and a competitor. Verdict in the coming weeks.
