Court denies Starbucks’ request for judicial recovery and requests expert opinion

The urgent request for judicial recovery of the Starbucks coffee chain was denied by the São Paulo Court this Wednesday (1st). The request had been filed a day earlier by the company SouthRock Capital, operator of the brand in Brazil, as well as Subway and the Eataly emporium.

SouthRock claims that the purpose of the application is “to financially protect some of its operations in Brazil linked to strategic decisions to adjust its business model to the current economic reality”.

In the opinion of judge Leonardo Fernandes dos Santos, of the 1st Bankruptcy and Judicial Recovery Court of the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo (TJSP), however, there is a lack of documents that show the real situation of the company and its recovery conditions.

Judicial recovery does not imply bankruptcy. The aim is precisely to prevent the company from going bankrupt. Based on this premise, the judge determined in his decision that a preliminary examination be carried out on the documentation presented by the company to assess the company’s viability to recover and settle debts with employees, suppliers, among others.

If the urgent request for judicial recovery were accepted, SouthRock would be shielded from making payments for 180 days. The debts are estimated at around R$1.8 billion, according to Valor Econômico. The request filed by the company also includes Eataly, among the 24 companies linked to the group.

“The initial petition for the request for judicial recovery must be accompanied by financial statements of the balance sheet, a statement of accumulated results and since the last fiscal year, as well as a management report on cash flow and its projection”, argued the judge in your decision.

The preliminary investigation and expert report must be presented in court within a maximum period of seven calendar days.