High losses for Torsten Toeller

According to reports in the German retail magazines FAZ and Lebensmittelzeitung, the insolvency of René Benko's Austrian property and retail company Signa has cost Fressnapf founder Torsten Toeller almost 200 mio euros.

The Lebensmittelzeitung reports that Toeller had not participated in a capital increase for years and had reduced his stake in Signa Holding from the original 5 per cent to 4.46 per cent. Even the option he had taken to return his investments in Signa Holding at a fixed price has not been able to save Toeller from his misjudgement and the high losses.

According to the newspaper report, Toeller bundled his Benko investments via Fressnapf Luxembourg. The Lebensmittelzeitung also makes it clear, however, that the balance sheet of Toeller's family office Allegro Invest SE should not suffer too much from the investments in Benko. In 2022, the balance sheet total was still at 1.64 billion euros; it will be reduced to 1.5 billion euros. Depreciation and amortisation are likely to reduce the net profit for the year from 262 million euros (2022) to just above zero.

The Lebensmittelzeitung further states that Fressnapf's core business and Allegro Invest SE continue to be profitable and the equity structure remains healthy.