Gardening retailer Hortes, which has been struggling with tax debts and has not submitted annual reports for the past two years, is set to undergo court-ordered restructuring, Postimees reports.
With the restructuring, Hortes’ business partners are also taking action. Subsidiaries of Eften Real Estate Fund have announced they will terminate Hortes’ lease and have given the company an additional 30-day deadline to settle the debt.
On July 9, lessors received a court order from Harju County Court initiating the restructuring of Hortes. The restructuring plan is to be adopted by Aug. 23, Eften told the stock exchange.
Hortes’ troubles have been reported in the media previously — at the start of the year, the company started accumulating significant tax debt. Hortes has not submitted annual reports for the past two years.
In April, Hortes told the business daily Äripäev about the tough competition in the gardening retail business.
Hortes has been active in the Estonian market for a long time and has changed ownership several times over the past decade. In 2012, the business was owned by Joakim Helenius’ company, with plans to take it public within a few years. However, in 2016, the company was acquired by Livonia Partners, partially owned by Rain Lõhmus. In November 2022, the fund sold Hortes to Hemm Arendus OÜ, which is led by the current manager, Karol Koger.
According to the commercial register, the company currently has 43 employees and a tax debt of approximately 281,000 euros.
Source: BNS
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