Vroon shipping group reaches agreement with creditors

Troubled family-owned Dutch shipping group Redderij Vroon has reached agreement with its creditors, the Telegraaf reported on Friday. The Breda-based concern has debts totalling €1.1bn, and some activities will be trimmed down.

Vroon’s 22 creditors, which include the big Dutch banks and insurer Delta Lloyd, have agreed to a restructuring plan for Vroon. ‘We are making all the interest payments but are moving some repayments of the principle to a later date,’ Vroon’s CFO Herman Marks said. He added that every creditor would eventually be repaid.

The creditors have to agree individually to the terms. ‘While this might take all summer, we do not anticipate any problems,’ Marks said.

The agreement with the creditors came one day after various media were speculating about the collapse of Vroon. The company was founded in 1890 and is now headed by Piet Vroon who is worth some €1.2bn according to the Quote list of the richest people in the Netherlands.

Despite a net loss of nearly €170m in 2016, Marks said Vroon will be able to meet all its obligations. ‘We had operational cash flow of €150m last year and we expect the same for the current year.’
Source: DutchNews