The Rumasa Saga: part 2

Jose Maria Ruiz Mateos was an entrepreneur to his fingertips, and he started up all over again in 1990 using funds he had managed to keep from the taxman. Nueva Rumasa, however, was a group of companies and not a holding company as had been Rumasa, and he issued millions of shares, promising returns of 8%.  He began buying up companies in a variety of sectors including construction, a football team, property, food companies, and of course bodegas.

He bought Garvey for a second time in 1997, Jose de Soto (which was now owned by Garvey), Valdivia, Zoilo Ruiz Mateos (again) and CAYDSA, an old firm in Sanlucar whose name was changed to Teresa Rivero after his wife, and non Sherry bodegas Cavas Hill in Penedes, Marques de Olivara in Toro and Campo Nuble in Ribera del Duero. In 2004 Ruiz Mateos was diagnosed with Parkinsons and gradually delegated management of the group to his six sons - though he was pulling strings in the background - but they proceeded to run it corruptly and irresponsibly. In 2005 Jose Maria was jailed for 3 years for concealment of assets.

By 2010 ten of the biggest of the group´s companies (out of around 100) were declared bankrupt with debts totalling 700 million euros owed to investors - many of whom would lose their life savings - and the tax man. Four of the group´s own executives raised a court action alleging fraud, so Jose Maria and his sons found themselves back in court.

In September 2011 a company called Back in Business owned by a valenciano Angel de Cabo and which specialises in buying up and restructuring ailing firms bought Nueva Rumasa for 1.5 billion euros in a "very complex process". The details of the deal were not released but a promise was made to meet all commitments to shareholders and the workforce. There may be interest from competitors in buying component companies which might offer hope to the approximately 9,000 workers, and indeed some of the food companies have already been sold.

It now seems that the courts are highly suspicious of Back in Business, and suspect that the "complex process" was an exercise in obfuscation of dodgy dealings. Certainly all six sons are in jail having been convicted of fraud, money laundering, concealment of assets and non payment of tax. Jose Maria died in September 2015