A total of 44 companies, seven of which are Catalan, have taken advantage of the two rescue mechanisms that the state has enabled to save the crisis caused by the pandemic. Among all these companies, they have received loans worth 2,310 million euros, and 329 of them have been left by Catalan companies. It is public money that has gone directly to companies that, in order to receive it, have had to prove that their critical situation is a consequence of the pandemic. Therefore, they have had to prove their solvency and good condition at the end of 2019, the last year of normalcy. This has forced companies to submit to strict controls, according to the companies themselves.
Catalan companies affected by the covid that have received a rescue
Of the 329 million received by the seven Catalan companies, there is only one, the hotel Hotusa, which has accounted for almost three quarters of the total. The group – with its headquarters in a Madrid industrial estate since 2017 – incurred losses in 2020 for the first time in its history. An important detail, as detailed by the Spanish government, is that these are “last resort” and that, therefore, to receive them “must have previously exhausted the other options.”
Initially, the Spanish government enabled a special fund from SEPI (the company that groups the state’s industrial holdings) to which a minimum of 25 million could be requested. Seeing that this amount was very high, he later enabled one for smaller companies through another public company, Cofides. Of the seven Catalan companies that have so far received public funds, two have been raised by SEPI and the rest by Cofides. They are these:
Hotusa
Import rebut: 241 M€
2020 sales drop: -76%
Losses 2020: € 127 million
Workers 2019: 4,085
The hotel group founded by the Galician-born entrepreneur Amancio López is the fourth company in Spain to receive the most money to get out of the hole caused by the pandemic (only surpassed by Air Europa, Técnicas Reunidas and Ávoris). During the first year of the pandemic, its revenue was 310 million, a quarter of the 1,270 million it had in 2019.
This group is present in 17 countries and has 219 establishments, 67% of which are in Spain, which places it “as the first hotel chain in number of accommodation” in the State, according to SEPI to justify that it is a strategic company, one of the criteria that was evaluated to be able to access this fund. Of the 241 million received, 190 are in the form of a participatory loan, a feature that allows credit repayments most closely linked to the evolution of the business. In addition, it allows deductions in corporation tax and, if necessary, to account for the loan as the company’s capital (which makes it easier to avoid a dissolution process).
Serhs Group
Import rebut: 34 M€
2020 sales drop: -45%
Losses 2020: € 20.9 million
Workers 2019: 2,080
Serhs has four lines of business (distribution, hotels, food and services) and all of them were deeply affected by the pandemic. This resulted in heavy losses of 21 million, while sales were 147 million, almost half that of a year ago. This company in Pineda de Mar is controlled by the Bagó family, but has 1,398 shareholders, according to information provided to SEPI. Of these, 40% are employees, family members and small businesses. In addition, it has 40,000 customers and 2,500 suppliers. Of the money received, almost half (17.3 million) is in the form of a participatory loan.
MMM
Import rebut: 18 M€
Falling sales: no data
Losses 2020: no data
Workers 2019: 794
The company Manufactura Moderna de Metales, based in Molins de Rei and controlled by the Priu family, is dedicated to the manufacture of tubes for the automotive industry. It has plants in Spain, Romania, Mexico and Russia. In fact, more than three quarters of its workforce is outside Spain. Although it has not yet published its 2020 data in the commercial register, to understand the size of the company it is useful to know that the previous year it had a turnover of 57 million euros and earned almost 900,000 euros. He will use the money from the credit he received to diversify his business “into the realm of hydrogen,” according to Cofides.
Nupik International
Import rebut: 15 M€
Sales drop: -30%
Losses 2020: € 5 million
Workers 2019: 181
This company, born in 1950 in Polinyà, and now controlled by the Italian Dopla, is the leader in Spain in disposable tableware. It has been affected not only by covid but by new regulations that impose changes in habits in the use of plastic plates and cups. Until 2019, almost everything was made of plastic, but that year they made significant investments to make the tableware with cardboard and cellulose, according to José Antonio Martínez, its financial director. But then came the covid and sales went from 50 million to 35. In 2021 it also recorded losses of around 4 million. “In order for Cofides to give us this money, we had to make one due dilligence very important in the financial, fiscal, legal fields … If they give you the money, it’s not because they are, ”says Martínez.
Navec
Import rebut: 9 M€
Sales drop: -41%
Losses 2020: € 9 million
Workers 2019: 1,133
The Navec group, based in La Pobla de Mafumet, offers services for industry in a broad sense (petrochemicals, mining, food), such as the assembly and maintenance of facilities, among others. The company had a turnover of 64 million in 2020, far from the 107 of the previous year. The entire amount received from Cofides is in the form of a participating loan.
Medcom Tech
Import rebut: 8 M€
Sales drop: -17%
Losses 2020: € 1.8 million
Workers 2019: 118
This company, the only one listed on the list of those listed, is engaged in distributing surgical, orthopedic and anesthesia products. Unlike others in the sector, it did not benefit from the import of health products during the state of alarm. It had a turnover of just under 19 million in 2020 and its shares are worth 0.8 euros, far from the 4 euros with which it debuted on the floor in 2010 and almost 15 that came to be worth in 2014. Its president and CEO, Joan Sagalés, played Barça handball for 14 years.
Syncotech
Import rebut: 3,25 M€
Sales drop: -23%
Losses 2020: no data
Workers 2019: 273
Dedicated to the manufacture of plastic parts for the automotive sector, its customers are the Volkswagen, Ferrari and Bentley groups, among others. She is the one who has received the least money of all. It has plants in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda and Esparreguera. Era la filial espanyola del grup alemany Wafa i el 2015 va ser adquirida pel seu equip directiu català.