Sunny Car Center has been in the news in Finland since 2010. Declared bankrupt by the district court in Hämeenlinna in 2015, a new unconfirmed estate inventory indicates that the 'car sales centre that never was' still owes millions of euros to various companies and individuals.
For years, an empty lot in Kirstula, Finland was dominated by a tall sign: Sunny Car Center. A massive car sales centre pictured by the city of Hämeenlinna and others never got any farther than that, however, and the estate inventory in question shows that even the towering sign was never paid for.
Four former employees claim the defunct firm owes them close to 88,000 euros in unpaid wages.
The largest debt, however, is owed to the German automation and technology giant Siemens, which according to the inventory is owed 4.36 million euros. Sunny Car Center also owes insurance company Pohjantähti 1.6 million euros, concrete element supplier Parma 744,000 euros and construction firm Lemminkäinen 600,000 euros, and two banks a combined sum of over 200,000 euros.
Several other smaller companies are also owed money, with sums ranging from a few hundred euros to nearly 60,000 euros.
Plenty of debt, little money
The unconfirmed estate inventory of the bankrupt firm contains a list of the assets and liabilities of the bankrupt endeavour, and it is not promising for Sunny Car Center's many creditors. The inventory says the Center has 11.6 million euros in liabilities, and fewer than 20,000 euros in assets. The numbers are dated, however, as they are based on a list of debts from 2015.
The inventory says that Sunny Car Center's accounts payable amount to 384,000 euros, with several hockey clubs owed money, notably Hämeenlinna's own HPK Liiga team, which is owed over 50,000 euros.