Perhaps one of the most difficult files for the administrator mr. JB de Meester in Middelburg is the suspension of payments for Connexxion Tours. The part of the Zeeland transport company TCR received a postponement of payment on Friday, putting 1300 jobs at risk. Suspension of payment is in most cases an omen of impending bankruptcy.
Connexxion Tours was sold in 2018 from the public transport giant Connexxion. Her then touring card daughter came into the hands of the Zeeuwse family business TCR of entrepreneur Cees Hage. His companies suddenly found themselves in dire straits last month. Our editorial staff's internal investigations among employees did not bode well anymore, as if the curtain had already fallen for them.
According to the union FNV, the problems are said to be due to poor payers and low rates, especially for care and student transport. The company had been struggling with difficult financial papers for years. Deferral arrangements for payments with suppliers and systematically extending payment terms were part of the daily policy. And that may come to an end soon.
Despite the sale of the then Connexxion subsidiary, the possible bankruptcy of TCR and Connexxion Tours can still have consequences for public transport companies such as Connexxion and Arriva. The Zeeland TCR operates many public transport lines nationwide that threaten to come to a halt in the coming period.
In the meantime, all creditors have been informed of the current situation in an email containing the compelling request not to claim any claims.
“The Zeeland-West-Brabant court has appointed two administrators. They are working hard to make an inventory of the current situation together with the director and they have mapped out various obligations and also the current obligations as of February 1, 2020. Suspension of payment means that creditors currently cannot demand a suspension of payments before the date.
In the meantime, the necessary steps have also been taken to initiate liquidity so that cover is found for the current liabilities after January 31, 2020. We focus on the continuation of the services in order to create peace of mind to find solutions for the longer term. ”
Problems for public transport
Union administrator Paas stressed rather that the TCR bus branch does not only work as a subcontractor for Connexxion.
“The company provides services to almost all public transport companies. If TCR falls over, all public transport in the Netherlands will have a problem. But I am confident that the administrators can still prevent bankruptcy. ”
continuity of the implementation of student transport
In the meantime, Omroep Zeeland also announced that the three Walloon municipalities had one burn letter have written to the administrators involved in the financial settlement of TCR's mountain of debt. The letter urges the municipalities to postpone bankruptcy for the time being.
“The municipalities fear that the continuity of the implementation of student transport is at stake. This creates great social unrest among parents and / or caretakers, pupils and schools, ”wrote the three Walcherse municipalities.
Also read: Unrest among staff of Zeeland TCR continues
