Rodenstock leads the way in UK refinancing

Rodenstock was cited as the company at the heart of a landmark legal ruling that enables German firms to come to London to shed their debts in the Sunday Telegraph (June 10).

The report 'Germany's "debt refugees" head for London' stated that the High Court had granted a scheme of arrangement for Rodenstock, 'a major German spectacle manufacturer crippled by debts of €305.3m'.

With headquarters in Munich and factories in Thailand and Europe, Rodenstock earned less than 2 per cent of revenue from UK customers, the Sunday Telegraph stated. Under the Scheme of Arrangement, companies can avoid insolvency by debt-for-equity swaps and fresh loans. As loans were made under English law it was ruled that the company could fall under an English jurisdiction.