Saab’s application for protection from its creditors to give it time to raise vital funding has been rejected by a Swedish court today.
The company had made the application for a self-managed company reorganisation, which would give it more time to wait for investment from China.
Approximately €245 million (£216m) of funds from car distributor Pang Da and car maker Zhejiang Youngman has to be signed off by the Chinese government before it can be made available to Saab owners Swedish Automobile.
If the application had been successful, Saab would have had at least three months’ protection from creditors while it waited for the cash and made internal efficiency savings. But Vanersborg district court rejected Saab’s application because it did not believe it would work.
Now Swedish trade unions could demand that Saab – which has struggled to pay its workers in recent months and owes its suppliers about £131m – be declared bankrupt.
The development does not affect Saab Great Britain. A statement issued by Saab GB yesterday said, “Saab GB is an independent business and a separate UK legal entity to Saab Automobile. It will continue to operate the business in the UK as normal and its dealer network will continue to provide servicing, replacement parts and vehicle warranty facilities for Saab customers."
Saab can appeal the court’s decision.
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