Spain

Jupiter Fund Management Plc and Invesco Asset Management are set to take over Codere SA as part of a deal to restructure the gaming firm’s debt, Bloomberg News reported. The Madrid-based company reached an agreement with a group of creditors, also including PGIM Ltd.

Spain’s largest hotel chain Melia Hotels has filed a complaint against the government with an administrative court seeking 116 million euros ($138 million) in damages incurred due to last year’s COVID-19 restrictions, the company said, Reuters reported. A spokeswoman for the group said on Wednesday the claim was related to losses suffered as a result of the government-imposed lockdown between mid-March and late June of 2020, confirming a report by the newspaper Expansion.

Spain’s government approved an 11 billion-euro ($13 billion) plan to help companies pay down debts accumulated during the pandemic, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said, Bloomberg reported. The package, which has three parts, will leave companies better poised for the economic recovery, Calvino told journalists during a televised news conference on Friday. The announcement is the latest example of how European governments are accelerating plans to prevent defaults and corporate bankruptcies as businesses struggle to survive extended pandemic restrictions.

The Spanish government is mulling additional economic measures to ease the situation facing thousands of companies badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the hotel, restaurant, and catering (HORECA) sectors, EURACTIV.com reported. Economy and Digital Transformation Minister Nadia Calviño has stressed that the government is considering the implementation of additional measures to mitigate the heavy impact of the pandemic and to “reinforce the solvency of firms.” Tourism is one of Spain’s key economic drivers.

Football club FC Barcelona Barça is on the verge of bankruptcy its total debt right now stands at 1,173 million euros, of which 730 are short-term, El Mundo reported. Nearly 266 million euros owed to banks comes due for the club before June 30 with 90 million of that figured owed to Goldman Sachs. The total wage bill for professional athletes currently stands at 74% of income . It should be remembered that the League regulations significantly penalize the fact of exceeding the 70% limit in the case of footballers.

A report recently by La Vanguardia says that La Liga giants Barcelona are in debt to the tune of €420m (£375), which must be paid by the end of this year or they could face insolvency, with the report describing the club as having let things spiral out of control, according to EuroWeeklyNews.com. Apparently, there is a straight €480m (£428m) long term debt, repayable over one year, and then another debt of €420m (£375m) in the short term, making a total debt of almost €900m (£803m) at the club.

Spanish blue-chips including Telefónica, Iberdrola and Seat are positioning themselves for tens of billions of euros in EU coronavirus aid they hope will transform their industries and benefit their bottom lines, the Financial Times reported. Spain expects to receive some €140bn from the €750bn EU coronavirus recovery fund, which leaders approved last week, making Madrid one of the biggest beneficiaries of the programme, along with countries such as Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal and Romania.

Economic activity in Spain and Italy’s services sector has hit a six-month low according to a widely watched business survey, as consumer companies bear the brunt of lockdowns to battle the spread of coronavirus, the Financial Times reported. Italy’s IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index for services fell for the third consecutive month to 39.4 in November, while the Spanish index fell for the fourth consecutive month to 39.5. A reading below the 50 mark indicates that a majority of businesses reported a contraction in activity from the previous month.