Seen from the commercial court, how is the northern Finistère economy doing?
Dominique Maguer: “If we take a little history, we have just lived about eight to ten years which were not bad. In 2015, we were at the height of difficulty. Then, a decline in the number of companies in difficulty began until the beginning of 2020. In the statistics, there is then a collapse in 2020. But it is artificial. Because of the covid crisis, we no longer had the right to order liquidations. Today, we are back at the 2019 level. Companies have suffered in recent years from the rise in the cost of raw materials, and energy in particular. The context of emerging from the covid crisis was therefore complicated.”
Has there been a backlash to covid-related aid?
“We must not minimize what the PGE (State Guaranteed Loans) have brought. They helped keep businesses and the entire economy afloat. Unfortunately, this debt to be repaid was disconnected from productivity. So today, companies have less equity. The company that repays its loan no longer has the capacity to resist in the event of a decline in its activity. There was a form of catching up. Companies that were not economically viable were kept artificially alive and, because the fundamentals were not present, ended up finding themselves in difficulty.”
What about the employees?
“If we take the workforce of the companies for which we have opened plans in 2024, we are at 2.6 employees per company. Like last year. Please note, this still represents 516 people in total at the end of August.”
Which sectors are most affected?
“They are the same as before but at much greater levels. In the hotel and catering industry, over the first six months of the year, the Brest commercial court is at +44% failure compared to the same period in 2023. Which is considerable. The construction sector is at +65%. Over the whole of 2023, we saw 41 companies and this year, in six months, there are already 34. Businesses are also very affected and real estate agencies.”
In total, are there more collective procedures?
“Yes, there is an increase in the first months of the year 118 liquidations at the end of August. In 2023, there were only 103 in eight months. There are fewer adjustments, however: 37 this year so far compared to 44 at the end of August 2023.”
Are you worried?
“The most worrying remains the level of conversion of adjustments into liquidations, which has doubled this year: 40 for the moment in 2024 compared to 21 at the same time in 2023. This means that we have put things in place and that it does not didn’t work. Recovery is not the antechamber of liquidation.”
Are there any remedies?
“The recovery success rate is normally 35%. For comparison, that of amicable procedures, when entrepreneurs come to see us earlier, is 75 to 80%! So I say to business leaders: “Come earlier!” » From the first difficulties in paying a bill, you must anticipate. I’m not telling them not to have confidence in the future, but to plan ahead. Otherwise, they risk finding themselves deprived of solutions to sustain the business. When people come to us early, we have solutions for negotiating with creditors. We do tailor-made. In the case of collective proceedings, the court no longer has this freedom.”
Why don’t the leaders come to see you?
“There are several reasons. Fear of the judge, a little pride too perhaps. It’s hard to think about failure. They also have the impression that this will become known if they come to the commercial court. However, our work is confidential when it does not involve collective procedures. The judges of the commercial court are also managers. We know the issues and the economics.”
How do you make your work known?
“We use tricks like “Trojan horse” meetings (smiles). For example, we give a theme on the evolution of the price of materials. The managers come because it is not a meeting on the commercial court strictly speaking. And for us, this allows us to get our messages across.”
On the court side, are there any developments in the institution?
“An experiment was launched in 2024, with the economic activities court across France for four years. All economic activities will be handled by this court, based at the commercial court. It now includes everyone in agriculture with assessors from the agricultural world.”
