News from Jerez 13.6.12

A Cadiz court has embargoed assets of the Ruiz Mateos family, Jose Maria, his six sons and one daughter, to cover a 94m Euro deficit at bodegas Zoilo Ruiz Mateos. This is on top of existing embargoes on two of the group's food companies (Dhul and Clesa) totalling 1.3bn Euros. The embargoes cover all family assets, direct or indirect, and investigation will take place if these prove insufficient. The judge reckons there are strong possibilities that the hitherto apparent solvency of the group may have attracted funding from private investors and this might have been channelled out of the group. The administrators have been criticised. The bodega was sold to Back in Business for 1 Euro in April 2011.

News from Jerez 8.6.12

Back in Business, the company which buys ailing firms. has been relieved by the Courts of the management of the Grupo Nueva Rumasa  bodegas (mainly Garvey and Zoilo Ruiz Mateos) for fear of asset sales. Administrators have been appointed as no effective management or business trajectory seems to be in place, and the Courts are worried that there may be covert dealings between Jose Maria Ruiz Mateos and Angel de Cabo, owner of Back in Business. They deny this, of course, but from frequent bodega visits and interviews with staff, the Court feels its view is justified.