Reby will go into liquidation with a debt of 15 million euros, five years after arriving in Barcelona as one of the first scooter rental firms.
The startup, founded by Pep Gómez, had a promising future just over a year ago. In May 2022, House of Lithium announced the acquisition of the business for 100 million dollars, about 95 million euros. The objective of the Canadian fund was to promote the brand, which operated in several cities in Spain and Italy and had the intention of entering Portugal. According to the Mercantile Registry, Reby Rides billed close to 8 million in 2021, earned 1.5 million and employed 51 people.
However, after the sale and purchase agreement was announced, the company began to neglect payments to its creditors. Under the direction of the CEO, Juan Francisco Sánchez, the indebtedness skyrocketed until in April the company filed for bankruptcy. At the end of July, the commercial court number 2 of Barcelona declared the bankruptcy and appointed José Vicente Roldán, from the Madrid law firm Ejaso, as administrator, as reported by El Periódico.
Sources close to the case say that one of the administrator's first actions was to fire the staff in August. It was made up of 34 employees who worked in Barcelona, Madrid and Zaragoza. These sources say that the activity was paralyzed months ago (employees were in ERTE) and that the business had no alternative but to go into liquidation. During these weeks it has also been determined that the liability amounts to 15 million. Among the creditors are several banks (Santander, BBVA, Sabadell), workers and the public entity Cofides, which at the end of 2022 lent them 1.5 million to finance the growth of Reby in Italy.
With the ERE to the workforce, the sale of the productive unit is ruled out and now the bankruptcy administration is calculating the value of the assets to sell them and cover part of the debts. Among the assets, a fleet of 2,300 scooters and bikes stands out, which, according to the company, have a book value of 2.5 million. However, there are vehicles in poor condition because Reby has been evicted from the warehouses where she kept them for not paying the rent.
Apart from the contest, Gómez and other investment partners are facing the House of Lithium in a legal process in Delaware (USA). The Canadian fund has not paid the agreed purchase price (it has only disbursed 15%) and the judge must determine if it is entitled not to do so. In the first instance, he agreed with the Canadian group but Gómez has appealed.
