On Tuesday 1 October, parents and guardians of 119 children received the urgent message that Brattås kindergarten would be closed the next morning. According to owner and chairman Trygve Bjarkø, he had no choice, when the municipal council in Færder turned down the offer to buy the nursery. Two-part purchase price It was on 2 October that the municipal council in Færder dealt with the matter. The elected representatives were able to see the sales offer, where kindergarten owner Bjarkø writes: “It is assumed that the purchase price is divided into two parts, of which approx. NOK 9.6 million is paid to the parent company Bjarkø Eiendom AS, which in turn transfers this to Brattås kindergarten as settlement for loans between group companies. The rest of the purchase price is paid directly to Brattås Barnehage AS”. Sands Advokatfirma presented Bjarkøy’s sales offer to the local politicians on behalf of Færder municipality. Photo: SKJERMDUMP Wanted to build more kindergartens In the period 2015–2020, almost NOK 10 million was paid in loans from Brattås kindergarten to Bjarkø’s own property company. These are loans that have so far not been paid back to the nursery school. In the years 2013–2018, Bjarkø took a dividend of over 4.6 million from the property company, the accounts of Bjarkø Eiendom show. This has previously been discussed in Tønsbergs Blad. It is parents and Færder municipality who mainly provide the income for Brattås kindergarten. Bjarkø tells news that a loan of around 9.9 million was given to the property company to develop new kindergartens. – We bought land in Holmestrand and Horten to build kindergartens in both places. Read the full response from Bjarkø at the bottom of the case. Suspicion of illegal loans In 2022, the Norwegian Directorate of Education opened supervision of Brattås kindergarten. After a 10-month review of the finances, the directorate suspected illegal loans and questionable salary payments. In the inspection report, questions were also raised as to whether the nursery paid bills that belong in other of Bjarkø’s companies. As can be seen from the sales offer to the municipality, Bjarkø confirms that the supervision case under the auspices of the Norwegian Directorate of Education has not been concluded. He suggests that a sale to the municipality could get the case out of the world. – Thus, the loan in the supervision case will be repaid, and it is assumed that the municipality asks Udir to close the case. It is assumed that the seller is not liable for the inspection case, says the offer. – Experiences it as problematic Municipal director Kristin Johannessen Kirsebom in Færder is critical of the sales offer from Bjarkøy. – There is one company that owns the nursery school, i.e. Brattås nursery school AS. We believe that making a partial settlement to another company is problematic, says Kirsebom. Municipal director Kristin Johannessen Kirsebom in Færder. Photo: Fredrik Pedersen / news She believes the problem is that Bjarkø’s offer, as he has presented it, means that the municipality would have to pay money to a company that does not own the kindergarten. – Would it be possible for the municipality to accept such a payment solution as Bjarkø has envisioned? – I have not come across such a solution before. As there was no sale, we have not taken a position on it, but we find it problematic, says the municipal director. news has asked Bjarkø whether he has checked the legality of dividing the sales sum in this way. – I have not found any way of how this could be carried out in practice, but thought that lawyers could find a solution, if possible, Bjarkø replies. – Illegal to favor creditors Attorney Tony A. Vangen at Elden Advokatfirma has worked extensively with company and contract law and property law. He says the normal thing is that the purchase price for a property goes to the seller. On a general basis, he believes that a sales offer such as that presented by Bjarkø could lead to potential creditors not getting their money. The lawyer emphasizes that it is illegal to favor creditors, i.e. that some get money before others. – In an imaginary case where the selling company has creditors who have not been paid, in the worst case a transfer of part of the purchase price to another company could lead to a pre-distribution of creditors, says Vangen. Attorney Tony A. Vangen at Elden Law Firm. Photo: Sturlason AS Polyfoto On 21 May this year, it was decided to sell Brattås kindergarten. – In other words, Brattås Barnehage AS seems to have creditors who have not been paid, says Vangen. When asked directly by news, Bjarkø denies that the sales offer was formulated with the intention of favoring other creditors. – It was designed so that it would correspond, or have the same effect for the group, as bids we had received. In that offer, the loan would be settled, and we wanted to create a similar solution by selling the property and not the shares. Requested tender Husbanken confirms to news that Brattås kindergarten owes them money. In May this year, the claim was around NOK 54 million. That is why Husbanken applied for a forced sale of the nursery school. Recently it became known that the Court of Appeal upheld the district court’s decision on forced sale. On Tuesday this week, however, Bjarkø himself submitted a tender request to the Vestfold district court. Bjarkø answers this: Why has Brattås Barnehage given a loan to the parent company Bjarkø Eiendom AS? – This was to give the group the opportunity to build more kindergartens. We bought land in Holmestrand and Horten to build kindergartens in both places. What was the loan to be used for? – Develop new kindergartens. What is the total amount Bjarkø Eiendom AS has borrowed from Brattås barnehage AS? – As of today, it is about 9.9 million. As the owner and chairman of the board, have you checked the legality of a settlement for the nursery as described in the sales offer? – Bjarkø eiendom AS received an offer of NOK 10 million for the shares in Brattås Barnehage in May. Bid assumed that 9.6 million would be used to pay from Bjarkø Eiendom AS to Brattås Barnehage AS. That is why it is worded this way. I haven’t found any way how this could be implemented in practice, but thought that lawyers could find a solution, if possible. I have communicated to the municipality that if there is no solution, the entire purchase price could be paid to Brattås Barnehage AS. A possible solution was for the municipality to buy shares equal to the second bid, and then return the shares, or shut down the company. If so, what is the conclusion of that? – It has not been concluded, see above. Who has calculated an average valuation of NOK 76.9 million for the kindergarten? – There are three appraisers, appraisals have been sent to the municipality. Why is the price still set at NOK 67 million? – In their submission, the municipality has written that they are interested in buying the nursery, but at a significantly lower price. Out of consideration for the children, parents and the employees, I first went down to NOK 67 million and then, before a final decision in the municipal council, in an email to the politicians NOK 65 million, forwarding the email to you. There are liens for NOK 65 million, so a voluntary sale is not possible lower. It is an important point that I gave the nursery a mortgage on my private home, which meant that it was possible to take out the loan from the bank. The bank therefore lent the nursery money and then the nursery lent the money on to the parent company Bjarkø Eiendom AS. This means that I, as the owner, had the entire risk when the loans were established. In the draft legislation for the new daycare center law, it appears that there are no rules governing lending from daycare centers in the current law. Published 15.10.2024, at 18.59
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Asked for two-part purchase price for kindergarten – demanded millions for own company – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
