Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux, Sheraton de Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, Trianon Palace de Versailles… The Bordeaux commercial court validated the recovery plan for the three luxury hotels owned by businessman Michel Ohayon, despite the opposition of the main creditor, according to judgments consulted by AFP this Monday March 4.
These establishments are managed by third parties (InterContinental, Sheraton and Waldorf Astoria), but the premises, valued at more than 500 million euros in total, are owned by Financière Immobilier Bordeaux (FIB), Michel Ohayon’s holding company, via subsidiaries which had been placed in receivership at the end of January 2023.
As the commercial court recalls in its decisions dated February 28, the development of the FIB hotel division was mainly thanks to the financial support of Bank of China, from which three loans had been taken out between 2014 and 2017 for a total of 201 million euros.
The repayment of these loans failed while the FIB, itself placed in recovery, encountered significant financial difficulties which it explained by the consequences of the health crisis on its real estate income. These came from the hotel industry but also from commercial brands (Camaïeu, since liquidated; Go Sport and Gap, sold; as well as around twenty Galeries Lafayette stores, placed in safeguard procedure from which they could exit at the end of the month).
Bank of China, which demanded the liquidation of the subsidiaries that own the three hotels, refused the business continuation plan presented by Michel Ohayon. But the court considered that the scenario adopted after modifications introduced at its request was economically viable and provided sufficient guarantees for the settlement of the liabilities, spread over four years.
Asked by AFP to find out in particular whether their client plans to appeal or not, Bank of China’s lawyers did not immediately respond. Contacted via one of its councils, the FIB did not wish to comment. The holding company remains placed in receivership, the commercial court having recently extended, for the second time, its observation period for a period of six months.