Marble factory in Bulgaria restarts production through innovative receivables management.

Imagine a family business that has been a secure employer and a status symbol for the region for more than six decades, encountering financial difficulties and eventually insolvency. No more money is expected. The bank sells the outstanding debts, and the company faces final closure. 

This was the situation faced by the roughly one hundred employees of the traditional marble factory Berkowiza in 2019. Here, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, the rose-colored "Berkovitsa Marble" is quarried. This natural stone has made the family business known far beyond the country's borders. At the same time, the region in northwestern Bulgaria is one of the poorest in the entire European Union. Unemployment is significantly above the national average. 

The marble factory was sold to EOS in 2019 as part of a bank portfolio. "Our approach at EOS is always to first seek a mutual payment agreement. But the marble factory had been insolvent for years, and COVID-19 worsened the situation," recalls Emil Krastev, Deputy Managing Director at EOS in Bulgaria.

Two options remained: a quick sale of assets or the search for an investor to save the jobs. "Selling the assets could have had fatal consequences for the region's population. So our creativity was needed."

EOS initiated a comprehensive marketing campaign and convinced local business newspapers to report on the situation. This unconventional strategy led to success: a Bulgarian private equity group became aware of the company and was willing to invest. But that was not all. To improve the prospects of success, EOS went a step further and acquired a competitor's claim, secured with an essential stone-cutting machine.

"This allowed us to sell the receivables to the new investor, keep the factory running, and secure the jobs," explains Krastev. His conclusion: "We chose the marathon route instead of the sprint – and it definitely paid off."