Lido to emerge from bankruptcy

RIGA - Latvia’s flagship public catering company Lido and its owner, Gunars Kirsons, says they have succeeded in solving their financial problems and that the company will soon resume normal operations, reports business daily Dienas Bizness on Dec. 7. Out-of-court legal protection for Lido will be lifted later this month.

Kirsons says that he has reached agreement with DNB Bank, which agreed to extend the loan repayment term for Lido. This is the first such case in Latvia when the out-of-court legal protection status has been lifted for a company.
“Now the company can continue normal operations, make monthly loan payments and serve customers,” says the businessman. This is also in the interest of the state, adds Kirsons.

The out-of-court legal protection process has taught Kirsons many lessons and helped him see and correct past mistakes, he adds. Lido has been thoroughly revamped and systemized, he asserts.
Lido administrator Edgars Karelis told the newspaper that he has not yet been informed whether Kirsons and DNB Bank have reached settlement, but the situation does seem hopeful and Lido will most probably reach agreement with its largest creditor. The settlement, though, is yet to be approved by the court.

Kirsons says that now Lido will continue swift development, and that a new restaurant could open in Riga next spring, which could attract new investors for the further development of the Lido chain.
Earlier this year, two companies affiliated with Lido - Dizaina Projekti and Lido Turisma un Atputas Kompleks - that were both previously declared insolvent, were successfully sold at auction.
Income from the sale of the two companies will be used to pay Lido debts.

The restaurant chain’s creditors include Nordea Bank, DnB Nord Bank, Latvijas Krajbanka, Latvijas Hipoteku un zemes banka, Uldis Pumpurs, Panama-registered company Carcel Holdings, British Virgin Islands-registered company Joondaloop Financial Corp. and Zala zeme Lido, which have altogether issued loans valued at 20.9 million lats (29.8 million euros).

Lido posted 17.6 million lats in turnover last year - 3 percent less than in 2009, and employed 933 workers last year, a 12 percent decrease on 2009.
Lido has eight restaurants in Riga, one restaurant in Riga District, two production bases and three stores. Kirsons is the sole owner.