Solar Companies of Super Investor Kees Koolen (Booking) Go Bankrupt
Four solar panel companies owned by super investor Kees Koolen have gone bankrupt. These companies were hit hard by customer unrest over the abolition of the solar panel compensation scheme. “The companies saw their revenue cut in half,” says curator Bert Jansen. There is significant interest in a potential restart, according to him.
Jansen was appointed as the curator of the four bankrupt companies from the sustainable energy empire Koolen Industries by the court last week. In his role, he must handle the bankruptcies of Koolen Industries Solar, Koolen Installation Services, BonGo Solar, and Novavolt. The curator mentioned that the four companies have ’thousands of customers’ who could be affected by the bankruptcy. This includes customers who have ordered and paid for solar panels but have not received them yet. For customers who already have their panels installed, warranty issues may arise.
Wealthy investor Kees Koolen is well-known for his investments in the sustainable energy sector, having amassed wealth as an investor in and CEO of booking site Booking. He also invested in the taxi service Uber. His net worth, according to the Quote500 rich list, is estimated at nearly 400 million euros. With a portion of his wealth, the entrepreneur founded the cleantech company Koolen Industries in 2019. The company now invests in around 25 businesses operating in the sustainable energy sector, including the four companies that have recently gone bankrupt.
According to the latest annual report, Koolen Industries had a total revenue of over 105 million euros in 2022. The forecast for 2023 was a revenue of 170 million euros. However, the report indicated that the company was still reliant on the owner’s deep pockets. In 2022, Koolen Industries incurred nearly 21 million euros in losses, partly due to investments in research and development. Owner Koolen injected almost 32 million euros that year, keeping the financial reserves intact.
Last summer, Koolen anticipated a ‘significant improvement in financial performance’ as a result of the growing demand for sustainable products and services. Unfortunately, this did not apply to the four subsidiary companies that went bankrupt last week. Initially, around 125 people were employed at these companies, but the number had already been reduced to 65.
Curator Jansen mentioned that the management of the companies attributed the bankruptcies mainly to increased uncertainty surrounding the solar panel compensation scheme. This scheme allows solar panel owners to sell excess electricity back to the grid at favorable terms. While there were plans to phase out the scheme, the current government coalition aims to abolish it entirely.
“I heard that the companies were doing extremely well, even last year. The order books and warehouses were full. However, due to the political debate on the compensation scheme, revenue halved rapidly. Customers started waiting. Meanwhile, costs continued to accrue,” explained Jansen.
At present, Jansen is focused on facilitating a potential restart. “As a curator, I always opt for this, including in this case. Several parties have already expressed interest in a complete or partial restart, which is encouraging.” Jansen expects the process to take at least two or three weeks. As for Koolen’s interest in a restart post-bankruptcy, Jansen did not provide any insights. He also could not speculate on whether other sister companies of Koolen Industries may face challenges due to market developments and the bankruptcy.
Koolen was unavailable for comment this morning, and the parent company has not responded to requests for statements.