Greek court rejects Folli's request for protection from creditors

Folli Follie SA

19/11/2018 09:50

ATHENS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A Greek court has rejected a
request by Greek jewelry maker Folli Follie for temporary
protection from its creditors before it completes a
restructuring plan, a judicial source said on Monday.
    Folli, whose shares have been suspended since May, said last
week that management was producing a revised business plan
together with Deloitte for restructuring its operations.
 ID:nL8N1XQ82T 
    Securing interim protection would mitigate the risk of a
large number of job losses in Greece and abroad, Follie said,
adding it had "strong support of over 50 percent of its
unsecured creditors." Folli employs about 5,000 people
worldwide. 
    The company declined to comment on the court decision.
    Folli's shares plunged in May after equity fund
Quintessential Capital Management (QCM) issued a report saying
the company had overstated the number of retail outlets it
operates worldwide and raised concerns over its reported
finances. It also questioned its accounting practices in Asia
where the company had expanded rapidly. 
    That report led to a fine by the Greek securities commission
and an investigation and the resignation of its founders,
Dimitris Koutsolioutsos and Ekaterini Koutsolioutsou, in
September, after a preliminary audit revealed wide discrepancies
in 2017 financial statements.

 (Reporting by Constantinos Georgizas; Additional reporting by
Angeliki Koutantou; Writing by Renee Maltezou)
 ((renee.maltezou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376439; Reuters
Messaging: renee.maltezou.reuters.com@reuters.net))