No public annual financial statements for seven years – Blackbox KaDeWe
Tue 01/30/24 | 6:55 p.m. | By Ute Barthel and Wolf Siebert
dpa/Gateau
Video: rbb24 Abendschau | 01/30/2024 | News | Image: dpa/Gateau
So far, KaDeWe has given the impression that it could survive the decline of the Signa Group like a rock. With good sales, the luxury department store seemed to be defying bankruptcy. The actual situation of the company has been opaque for a long time. By Ute Barthel and Wolf Siebert
At the end of November 2023, KaDeWe managing director Michael Peterseim said in a newspaper interview that the traditional department store was doing well and that the concerns were unfounded. Sales of 800 million euros are expected for 2023. Hence the current one Report of the bankruptcy filing for KaDeWe was quite surprising. The company justified the move in a press release with the exorbitantly high rents, which would make sustainable business almost impossible.
Negotiate other options with bankruptcy
Johannes Berentzen from BBE Handelsberatungsgesellschaft also believes that the luxury department store’s business model is healthy. He can imagine that the operators of KaDeWe also see the bankruptcy filing as an opportunity. “As part of such insolvency proceedings under self-administration, you can also get rid of unpleasant excessive rents,” explains the retail expert. “That is different than if you are not in bankruptcy now. You cannot simply say: the rents are too high for me . This is already possible in insolvency law in certain cases.” He also suspects that the majority shareholder, the Thai Central Group, wants to use the opportunity to say goodbye to SIGNA as co-owner.
No annual financial statements have been published since 2016
However, it is unclear what the status of the luxury department store actually is. According to information from rbb24 research, the operator, “The KaDeWe Group GmbH”, last published annual financial statements for the 2015 financial year in 2016. The company has apparently been violating disclosure obligations since then. Apparently this lack of transparency is not an isolated case among companies in the SIGNA Group.
Numerous companies in the SIGNA network are said to have not submitted annual financial statements for years. The Austrian magazine “News” reported in November 2023 that the mandatory sentences imposed were said to have been accepted. The news report estimates the sum for the mandatory penalties at a quarter of a million euros. In theory, such payments are even tax deductible. This information has not yet been confirmed [news.at].
In Germany, too, according to the Commercial Code, failure to disclose the annual financial statements in a timely manner is subject to a fine of 2,500 to 25,000 euros. The Federal Office of Justice is responsible. This explained to rbb24-Recherche: “If “The KaDeWe Group GmbH” violated the disclosure obligations under commercial law, the Federal Office of Justice proceeded accordingly and initiated administrative fine proceedings in accordance with Section 335 of the German Commercial Code.” Despite repeated requests, the press spokeswoman did not want to be more specific. The press department of “The KaDeWe Group GmbH” could not currently be reached for a statement.
550 million mortgages
The property on which the “Kaufhaus des Westens” stands belongs to Tauentzienstraße 21-24 Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG. According to the land register extract, there are land charges totaling 550 million for the Bavarian State Bank, but also for various Bavarian pension institutions (supply institution for doctors, pharmacists, architects, lawyers and engineers, etc.) on the property. These land charges were already registered in 2016. It is not clear from the land register whether they have now been paid in full or in part. The Bavarian Supply Chamber responded to rbb24 research’s query by saying that it could not provide any information about individual properties and borrowers.
On what basis does the state judge Berlin?
Although the economic situation of the KaDeWe operating company has not been made transparent in the company register since 2016, the state of Berlin, together with Hamburg and the federal government, granted the company a default guarantee in the Corona year 2020. According to press reports, it is about a loan of up to 90 million euros. The answer to a written question from the Left in the Berlin House of Representatives shows that after the lockdown, the Berlin jobs of the KaDeWe Group should be secured by a public guarantee.
But on what basis was the Senate Department of Finance able to assess the economic situation of the KaDeWe Group in 2020 if the company has not published any annual reports for several years? A spokesman for the Senate Department of Finance stated in writing that no information could be provided about the amount and structure of the guarantee for reasons of confidentiality. The Federal Ministry of Economics is responsible for the guarantee. A spokeswoman for the ministry said that the company had to submit comprehensive documentation on economic development when applying for a guarantee.
Expert fears loss of 90 million in tax money
In the case of the guarantee for the KaDeWe Group, the federal government assumes half of the risk, and the federal states involved share the other half. In addition to Berlin, Hamburg is also involved in the guarantee, as the KaDeWe Group also operates the Alsterhaus in Hamburg. With the insolvency of the KaDeWe Group, this guarantee could become due, the spokeswoman confirmed: “In principle, insolvency can lead to a (partial) failure of the guarantee and thus an event of damage.” However, it is also possible that the company continues its activities and the loans can continue to be serviced.
Johannes Berentzen from the BBE trading company fears that further tax money could be lost as a result of KaDeWe’s insolvency. “These 90 million euros are already on fire in the event of insolvency. If the guarantee actually takes effect and the state and federal government step in, then from Berlin’s point of view and from the taxpayer’s point of view, the money will be gone for the time being – as annoying as it is. You have to think about the fact that more than a billion euros of tax money has flowed into Galeria Kaufhof in the last two bankruptcies. So that’s a remarkable amount. It sends shivers down your spine when you think about it again and again eyes.”
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, January 31, 2024,
Contribution by Ute Barthel and Wolf Siebert