The owner of the VIPS and Foster's Hollywood chooses not to resort to the Sepi after probing their help

After the hit of the first wave of the coronavirus last March, the second threat also to the restaurant sector and puts the multi-brand leader in Spain Alsea Iberia to the test.

This group, owner of the VIPS group and Foster's Hollywood, among others, affirms that it is resisting the pandemic.

Alsea Iberia has explored the possibility of turning to the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (Sepi) in case it needs to obtain its financial help, but has finally given up, at least for the moment.

This is confirmed by group sources, who explain that it has been analyzing different avenues in case they were necessary, but that the result is this:

These sources qualify as "stable" the financial situation of this leader in the Iberian restaurant market with more than a thousand restaurants and a workforce of close to 20,000 employees in Spain.

It also has another 2,000 in Portugal.

This Iberian division of the company controlled by the Mexican family Torrado has not stopped growing in Spain with the first acquisition of the Zena group, which operates Foster's Hollywood, Cañas y Tapas, La Vaca Argentina, Burger King and Domino's Pizza restaurants, among others. .

After this operation, closed in 2014, in 2018 the VIPS group bought the Arango family, forming an emporium that had a turnover of more than one billion before the outbreak of the pandemic.

For the acquisition, he resorted without difficulty to a loan of more than 600 million, but the horizon is no longer what it was then.

After the pandemic, revenues have fallen by hundreds of millions and the danger of further falls in key markets such as Madrid constitutes a challenge for the head of Alsea in Europe,

.

Also, the Mexican parent company is suffering the effects of the coronavirus and the Spanish market is the most important after the Aztec one within the Torrado family group.

Alsea Iberia has taken adjustment measures in some of its brands after resorting to a strong Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE) after the declaration of the state of alarm.

Alsea Iberia was one of the pioneer groups in presenting ERTE due to force majeure given that the vast majority of its activities, except for home delivery, were paralyzed by article 10.4 of the Royal Decree that suspended the hotel business throughout the State as a weapon for prevent the spread of the virus.

He presented it already on March 15, just a few hours after the government decree and company sources decline to quantify how many employees have already been able to activate from that ERTE.

Had he triggered a call for help, it would be a milestone for Sepi as it is the first time a restoration leader has knocked on his door.

The state company has the government's mandate to manage aid and rescue of viable companies that are considered strategic in a very broad definition, according to the regulatory ministerial order.

Sepi is already processing an aid of close to 500 million for Globalia, the tourism giant of the Hidalgo family, and close to 100 million for the industrial Duro Felguera, among others.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Spain

• Portugal

• Madrid

• Europe

• economy

ForecastsThe cold gives the finishing touch to the bars: one in three faces the closure before the end of the year

Tourism Board Juan Molas: "To maintain competitiveness and consumption, VAT must be lowered"

Measures A VAT reduction for tourism and hospitality would contribute 4,320 million and would save some 15,000 companies

See links of interest

• Last News

• Programming

• English translator

• Work calendar

• Movies TV

• Topics

• Coronavirus

• Alarm status

• Stage 7 of the Giro, live: Matera - Brindisi

• Semifinals, live: Diego Schwartzman - Rafa Nadal

• Zenit Saint Petersburg - Barça

• Semifinals, live: Novak Djokovic - Stefanos Tsitsipas

• Red Star - TD Systems Baskonia