The owners of the four star Porta Nova Hotel in Tavira which was closed yesterday are to fight back.
Novo Banco forced the hotel's closure by sending in a team of ‘legal representatives’ and security guards who changed the locks, made sure nobody got in and emptied the building of staff and guests.
The normal process would be for the bank to go to court and if successfully argued, the bank would duly be provided with a possession order and, if needed, a police escort. Lawyers and private security guards turning up and changing the locks is irregular, if not illegal.
Loyal workers were bemused and later on upset at the sudden closure. The management is irate that the bank has seized the property and cut off its cash flow, thus crystallising its debt which now will have interest added with no way of earning money to cover an ever-increasing obligation.
So, off to court it is with the management taking on the power of Novo Banco and its sharp-suited lawyers.
The bank itself hardly is in a stable financial situation but well able to pay lawyers and security guards in the knowledge that it eventually can pass on the costs to its client.
Manuel Simões from the hotel group’s management said he of course deeply regrets that 40 staff now are out of a job, but puts this down to the bank’s actions, not those of the hotel management.
Guests who were forced to leave the Tavira hotel were taken to the other two hotels in the group of three, the other two being in Albufeira - not quite the same as Tavira but at least it’s a roof over their heads.
The hotel company had entered into a lease agreement with Novo Banco for the Tavira unit and may have have failed to keep to the payment schedule.
Rather than renegotiating the deal, Novo Banco is said to have pounced to seize the asset and sell it off at a 'quick sale' price to cover its lending.
The hotel already is listed for sale for €18 million,
Novo Banco is owned by the taxpayer yet is not accountable to anyone but those running the Resolution Fund which created the bank in August 2014.
Novo Banco is led by Stock da Cunha under the covert guidance and involvement of Carlos Costa at the Bank of Portugal, so getting any comment or action from these quarters is a non-starter.
