Financial recovery of Selection Group | The bankers’ representative finally meets Réal Bouclin

After having come up against the subordinates of Réal Bouclin on many occasions, the one who represents the bankers of Groupe Sélection was finally able to speak with the president and founder of the insolvent company. However, it will be necessary to wait before seeing more clearly in the finances because of the recent dispute surrounding the control of the restructuring.

This is revealed by the content of the second report of PwC, the controller of lenders, signed by its representative Christian Bourque. Filed on Wednesday, the 17-page document also points out that the seniors’ residence giant (RPA) and real estate builder will need 11.5 million to get to Christmas – a sum drawn from the 20 million envelope offered by the union. bank as interim financing.

“The deployment of interim financing […] only satisfies a very short period and a new request will have to be made as soon as longer-term projections can be reviewed by the controller.

According to the document, Groupe Sélection’s efforts to retain control of the company have “disrupted” the “preparatory work” aimed at seeing more clearly in the finances of the company, which has been singled out for its deficient management since then. that it filed under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on November 14.

In the saddle

The controller is now well installed at the controls. On Monday, the Quebec Court of Appeal rejected Groupe Sélection’s request for leave to appeal, which opposed a lower court’s decision to entrust its financial recovery to its bankers, who requested reimbursement of a loan of 272 million. This process will continue this Thursday, before the Superior Court, which oversees the judicial restructuring.

Mr. Bourque spoke with Mr. Bouclin and his team on November 23, via videoconference. On Tuesday, another meeting, in which the owner’s son (Philippe-Olivier) took part, was held to “discuss the setting up […] major short-term goals.

During the hearings to determine who would be in charge of the recovery, Mr. Bourque had deplored, during his testimony, his inability to have direct access to Mr. Bouclin in the months preceding the debacle of the company. The controller had finally been able to meet the businessman the week before the company turned to the CCAA.

Discussions also took place with Yves Mongeau, Senior Vice-President, Real Estate. This division is responsible for a large part of the disbursements of Groupe Sélection, which was losing 7 million monthly.

“The detailed review of the construction projects will be carried out in the coming weeks,” underlines Mr. Bourque.

Small reserves

According to the portrait painted by the controller, there were approximately 4.8 million left in the coffers of the owner and manager of RPA. Chests will continue to empty over the next few weeks. There will be just over a million left on December 24. A new tranche of financing will therefore be necessary.

Over the next few weeks, two appeals for funds totaling 3.5 million are planned to ensure the maintenance of services in RPAs. In addition, $700,000 was paid to respect the conditions of the interim financing that had been obtained by Groupe Sélection before being set aside by the courts.

Moreover, referring to “the scope of the file”, PwC is asking for higher remuneration. The firm wants the “administrative burden” to be increased to 1.5 million. Mr. Bourque has not finished scrutinizing the company.

“As the stabilization procedures are still at a preliminary stage, the comptroller wishes to return to court before the end-of-year holiday break to provide it with more information on the work accomplished and to be accomplished in the weeks to come”, states the report.

In total, Groupe Sélection’s receivables amounted to 904 million as of November 14. There was about $60 million to pay to unsecured creditors — suppliers who might end up empty-handed. Among the creditors, however, there are several companies linked or related to Groupe Sélection.