Real estate entrepreneur and sports sponsor Markku Ritaluoma’s dream of a mega car and shopping complex fell through in September when he failed to come up with the 8.4 million euros required to pay for the lot on which the development was to be located.
Now it seems that Ritaluoma’s Sunny Car Center is once more a sought-after company - not for promising business deals, but for payment of hundreds of thousands in debt.
Yle Häme reported Tuesday that tax authorities have hired debt collectors to recover nearly 170,000 euros owed by SCC for outstanding value Added Tax payments as well as unpaid withholding taxes.
The tax man also wants the company to fork out more than 6,000 euros owed for unpaid social security contributions for its employees.
Local signage company also wants debt paid
Ritaluoma and Sunny Car Center are also in the crosshairs of bailiffs in Hämeenlinna, where the local signage company Tammerneon is trying to recover the cost of the advertising tower erected on the site of the failed development.
According to Tammerneon chief executive Sami Liponkoski, the company is yet to pay the 180,000-euro bill for the tower.
“I believe that Sunny Car Center will file for bankruptcy. The famous tower is now up for sale,” he remarked.
The information on SCC’s debts is based on data in the Kanta-Häme collections agency register.
Yle Häme was unable to reach SCC CEO Markku Ritaluoma for comment Tuesday. Read more about the Sunny Car Center saga here and here.