Press Release

Lawyer, Dr. Michael Jaffé
Provisional insolvency administrator for P&R Container Vertriebs- and Verwaltungs-GmbH, Grünwald, and P&R Gebrauchtcontainer Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, Grünwald

Lawyer Dr. Philip Heinke
Provisional insolvency administrator for P&R Container Leasing GmbH, Grünwald

Three P&R container management companies file for insolvency

Operations are expected to continue globally to secure assets and to create the basis for an orderly sale
Inventory ongoing

Munich, 19 March 2018. P&R Container Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, P&R Gebrauchtcontainer Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH and P&R Container Leasing GmbH each filed for insolvency on 15 March 2018 at Munich District Court. In its decision on 19 March 2018, the Munich District Court appointed lawyer Dr. jur. Michael Jaffé as the provisional insolvency administrator of P&R Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH and of P&R Gebrauchtcontainer Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH. Lawyer Dr. jur. Philip Heinke, also of the law firm JAFFÉ Rechtsanwälte Insolvenzverwalter, was also appointed as the provisional insolvency administrator of P&R Container Leasing GmbH. Previously, the Munich District Court had already appointed the provisional insolvency administrators as appraisers in its decision of 15 March 2018. P&R Transport-Container GmbH and the other companies in the P&R Group have not filed for insolvency.

In the past, the container management companies affected by the insolvency offered new and used freight containers as private investments. Investors purchased the containers based on the available information and leased them for a certain investment term (three or five years). In return, investors received rental payments during the period of the lease. In addition, investors were promised that the container management companies would buy back the containers at the end of the contract term. The entire fleet of containers was leased on the global market to leasing companies and the transport industry. As market leader in their segment, the three P&R companies managed in the end around 51,000 investors.

Since being appointed as assessors, the provisional insolvency administrators have been evaluating the financial position of the companies and examining the potential for restructuring within insolvency proceedings.

Supported by a team of experts, the provisional insolvency administrators have already started to take an inventory and to analyse the assets and liabilities in the companies. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been hired to record and prepare the figures. At the same time, the legal situation is being assessed, in particular the cross-border supply and service relationships with the other companies in the P&R Group in Germany and in Switzerland, which are not in an insolvent situation. The aim of this assessment is to identify how many containers are leased to whom and on what terms, and when payments are expected under the leases.

Considering the size of the company, the large number of containers and the legal complexity the inventory will take some time; once it is complete it will be possible to come to a decision about the potential to achieve value in the interest of the investors and creditors to reach the best possible outcome for investors and creditors of the management companies.

“In addition to performing an inventory, our priority is to secure the considerable flows of funds from the ongoing container leases for the investors and creditors of the insolvent companies. For this reason, the companies’ operations should continue globally in order to generate revenues. We understand that the investors are in a difficult position, but at the same time we ask them to remain calm. It makes no financial sense for the investors to sell the containers themselves while the containers are still expected to generate long-term lease revenues. Regardless of the legal assessment, it is simply not possible, in fact, for investors to sell individually on the market. Moreover, containers may be in use across the entire world, and they cannot simply be collected by the investors on actual and cost grounds. Any attempt of this kind would cause severe damage, potentially leading to total loss, and thus would not be in the interests of the investors. We will continue to do everything possible to avoid such losses, initially to secure the assets, and then to decide how to recover their value. Our goal is to achieve the best possible recovery of the legitimate claims of the investors in accordance with the legal requirements”, said the provisional insolvency administrators.

It is already becoming apparent that the sale of such a high number of containers is not possible overnight, time is needed to achieve good results. An emergency sale of the containers, if this was even possible, would destroy value considerably. “As a first step, we now need transparency, and on this basis we will work out a sale plan over the next weeks and months in conjunction with the management and the employees. Simultaneously, we will establish the causes of the crisis. The level of returns that are possible for investors also depends on the development of the market over the next couple of years and that cannot be foreseen at the moment,” says the provisional insolvency administrator, Dr. Michael Jaffé.

Because of the large number of interested investors (approximately 51,000), neither the affected companies, the provisional insolvency administrators nor the insolvency court are able to respond to individual questions, and we ask for your understanding in this respect. To provide investors with information, a website will be set up in the next few days (www.frachtcontainer-inso.de) where they can find information and where details of the current status of the insolvency proceedings as well as information about the procedure will be published.

Additional information

Dr. Michael Jaffé is one of the most experienced and renowned insolvency administrators in Germany. For over two decades he has regularly been appointed by the courts in difficult and large insolvency cases where the objective is to secure the assets for the creditors and to realise the best possible value.  Dr. Jaffé 's best-known national and international insolvency proceedings include the media group KirchMedia of the late Dr. Leo Kirch, the former global memory chip manufacturer Qimonda and the German subsidiaries of the Petroplus group, formerly the largest independent refinery operator in Europe, whose shares were also held by a company in Switzerland. In the insolvency proceedings over the assets of Petroplus Raffinerie Ingolstadt GmbH, he was recently in a position to inform the creditors that their claims could be recovered in full. In addition, he has successfully concluded the restructuring of the caravan producer Knaus Tabbers, Grob Aerospace and Cinterion Wireless Modules Holding GmbH. As insolvency administrator of Stadtwerke Gera Aktiengesellschaft, a holding company for the investments of the city of Gera, which was concerned with providing public services for approximately 200,000 people, he was able to quickly stabilize the operations after the insolvency application and subsequently maintain them without restrictions. In the meantime, a permanent solution to continue operations was implemented for all holdings. As the insolvency administrator for the insolvent fund company NARAT GmbH & Co. KG, Dr. jur. Michael Jaffé also sold one of the largest commercial real estate portfolios in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Dr. Philip Heinke has been a lawyer at the law firm JAFFÉ for fourteen years, and for ten years has been appointed nationally as insolvency administrator, he has extensive experience in cross-border insolvency as well as capital investment cases.

The law firm JAFFÉ Rechtsanwälte Insolvenzverwalter has been one of the leading law firms in the areas of insolvency administration, insolvency law and litigation for more than two decades, in particular for complex and cross-border proceedings. The firm’s lawyers do not view company crisis and insolvency as an expression of business failure, instead they make every effort to ensure success for the company in insolvency through restructuring, maintaining jobs and at the same time ensuring that creditors needs are met in the best possible way. This applies in traditional insolvency proceedings as well as in self administration and umbrella proceedings. The firm’s lawyers are regularly appointed as insolvency administrators and trustees in difficult cases; their experience and independence guarantee fair and successful proceedings.

For further information, please contact:

Media contact for the provisional insolvency administrators:
Sebastian Brunner
Tel.: +49175/5604673

Email: sebastian.brunner@brunner-communications.de