VF1883 Pharmaceuticals, a medical cannabis producer based in Benavente, has been declared insolvent by the Santarém Court. The insolvency declaration judgment, requested by one of the company’s more than 80 creditors, was handed down on 23 November 2022 and has now become final, in January 2023. According to exclusive information that Cannareporter had access to, the VF1883 administration will have until March to present an insolvency plan.
VF1883 Pharmaceuticals had already missing from listing from companies licensed by Infarmed to produce cannabis in 2022. The beginning of this insolvency process, together with the impossibility of carrying out the planned activities, show signs of some difficulties in the company, which is now under the close eye of creditors.
The judicial decision, which took place on 23 November 2022 and became final in January 2023, after the judicial vacation, was rendered by Judge Carla Santos Ribeiro. According to the data contained in the Citius platform queries, the judge upheld the applicant’s reasoning, the company Fluxoterm – Climatização, Lda., A air conditioning company based in the vicinity of Leiria. With the insolvency declaration sentence, a creditors’ meeting was set up and an insolvency practitioner was appointed.
VF1883 has more than 80 creditors
In November, when the court was decided, Manuel Reinaldo Mâncio da Costa was defined as Insolvency Administrator and the date for the meeting of creditors was also set, which took place on the 19th of January, and brought together companies that claimed missing payments from the company. The insolvency proceedings, then opened, bring together more than 80 creditors, according to data published on the same portal as the Ministry of Justice.
In the list consulted by CannaReporter, there are either individuals, companies or even entities such as Social Security and Tax Authority. These will be the ones who will compose the meeting of creditors, together with representatives of the company’s employees. CannaReporter is unaware of whether the Social Security Salary Guarantee Fund mechanism has been activated.
Creditors’ meeting took place on January 19
The VF1883 Creditors Assembly took place on January 19, with the aim of deciding the future of the company and analyzing the report made by the insolvency practitioner. According to exclusive information, the meeting of creditors did not require a liquidation of the company. This meeting allegedly resulted in a concession of creditors to the administration of VF1883, giving it the opportunity to present an insolvency plan.
The company will thus be able to continue to develop its activities, having to present to the creditors’ meeting a plan for the restructuring of its activities and respective costs. The plan, which will be decided by the creditors’ meeting, will have to be presented by the management within two months. In March, creditors will review the insolvency plan and decide on the future of VF1883.
The company’s project, announced in 2019, provided for the creation of 250 direct jobs and, at the end of the deployment, more than 600 jobs. However, in 2021, the Mayor of Benavente, who gave a favorable opinion beforehand for the installation of 10 drying pavilions, six greenhouses and several support buildings, stated in 2021 to Jornal O Mirante that the employment generated was, after all, “ very residual ”.
Source & Documents Canna Reporter
Portugal: Tribunal de Santarém declara insolvência da VF1883
