Fundesem Seeks Debt Reduction and New Alliance Amid Ivace Lease Dispute

Fundesem currently presents a prepared first offer for vitality to its creditors. This plan was announced by Cayetano Sánchez Butrón, the president of Alicante Business School, during a Thursday board meeting where members of the foundation that runs the center were invited to participate. The objective is to obtain a green light for this approach at the upcoming session on October 5. Source: internal board briefings indicate that the trustees are considering survival options aimed at reestablishing an alliance with Fundesem European University to improve financial performance. This aligns with the center’s initial intentions before the organization filed for bankruptcy last July. The plan is described as a debt reduction strategy coupled with a cash contribution from a third party to facilitate payment, though the exact amounts remain undisclosed. If the board of trustees approves the plan at the upcoming Wednesday meeting, it would represent only the first step, as negotiations with creditors would then commence. The principal creditor in focus is the Valencia Institute of Business Competitiveness Ivace, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Economy. Ivace owns the property where Fundesem has its headquarters and is owed 1.65 million euros in rent. The plan, therefore, hinges on negotiations to stave off insolvency and secure continuity at the center. Source: Ivace records suggest that the organization terminated its lease and has begun to pursue the outstanding balance as part of an acceleration of events that began earlier this year. In response, Fundesem officials outlined a strategy to relocate parts of the headquarters to the European University for teaching various degrees and joint postgraduate programs. The proposal did not fully win over the Generalitat, which, while asking for a credible training and future plan for the center, also demanded a substantial debt repayment as a gesture of goodwill to support ongoing operations at the school facilities. Source: Generalitat statements indicate a demand for financial concessions as a prerequisite to negotiating the center’s future. Despite these efforts, the risk that smaller creditors would initiate proceedings led Fundesem’s board to file for discretionary bankruptcy, effectively interrupting ongoing negotiations. Alicante City Hall had previously transferred the land for the building’s construction and remains the owner of the site. Source: municipal records. As the competition for control of the center intensified, Sánchez Butrón and his team resumed talks with the Private University and signaled an intent to pursue a renewed alliance that could secure the center’s long-term prospects. Meanwhile, while leadership at Fundesem works to preserve the foundation, Commercial Court No. 1 in Alicante opened a liquidation phase for a limited company established in 2020 to streamline its administration. The company holds no assets but employs faculty and staff whose compensation is at risk due to the ongoing financial strain. The liquidation, requested by Fundesem and published in the Public Bankruptcy Registry, marks a critical juncture in the center’s restructuring efforts. Source: court filing summaries.