The Independence car dealer has ceased operations. The company closed all dealerships. What happened to independence

In the fall of 2017, the Friday TV channel launched the reality show “Heirs”: the offspring of rich families had to live for four days in the Russian outback on 1,000 rubles. The hero of the second issue, 20-year-old Anton Nusinov, began the program with a presentation of his life: pictures from London and a huge family estate in Russia, vacations at the best resorts in the world, flying on a business jet and moving around the city in a Rolls-Royce with a personal driver.

The voice-over said that Anton’s dad is a real oligarch, but “either bankrupt or hiding.” Alexey Nusinov, father young man, in 2016 took 9th place in the Forbes ranking of “Russia’s 15 Main Debtors”. Nusinov Sr., one of the two founders of the Independence car dealer, was declared bankrupt in December 2015; creditors' claims amounted to about 800 million rubles. He successfully sold his share in Independence to Alfa Group structures at the beginning of 2008 before global crisis, but got burned out on real estate. And now he watches with bitterness as he lives last days his main brainchild is Independence itself, which ceased operations at the end of 2017.

Former chief managing director of the Independence group of companies, Elena Zhuravleva, still cannot believe that the company is dead. “I drive past the salon on Berezhkovskaya embankment, and it’s all dark. The signs are not lit, there are no people visible, there are no cars in the parking lot. It still seems to me that something can be done,” Zhuravleva says sadly.

She joined the company in 2007 as chief financial officer, in the spring of 2014 she became chief managing director, and in February 2017 she was replaced by Nikita Shchegol, the former head of the Formula Kino cinema chain, then controlled by the investment company A1. It is part of the Alfa Group of Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Alexey Kuzmichev, and now A1 owns slightly less than half of Independence (49.95%), the rest belongs to Roman Tchaikovsky, who, together with Alexey Nusinov, founded the company in early 1990 -X. A1 attracted Nikita Shchegol as an anti-crisis manager, but he failed to cope with the task. “The main task was to understand the current situation, form an anti-crisis team and formulate an action plan that would help the group of companies restore stability,” says an A1 representative. “It was planned to restructure the debt, which was not possible, and as a result the group lost the opportunity to continue functioning.”

Automakers and dealers have known about the problems of Independence for a long time, but the rapid ending of this story came as a surprise to everyone.

In September 2017, Nezavisimost, the third largest BMW sales company in Russia, suspended sales of cars of this brand; the German manufacturer simply disconnected the dealer from the order system due to numerous customer complaints about delays in receiving paid cars. Then BMW deprived the company of its dealership, and Jaguar almost immediately followed suit. Land Rover Volvo. On November 24, Gazprombank filed claims against six companies of the group demanding that they be declared bankrupt; on November 27, Nezavisimost announced that it had closed all shopping centers in Moscow and the regions and completely stopped selling new cars. The company's total debt, according to its data, amounted to about 6 billion rubles. In December, calls to the company’s central office at 71 Leningradskoye Shosse were answered that the general director was no longer in the company, and that a “liquidator was working in his place as part of the winding down of operating activities.”

“This is the sad anniversary of the 10-year partnership between one of the leaders of the automotive market and the best investment company in Russia,” says Elena Zhuravleva. More than 10 years ago, she was invited to the position of financial director at Independence precisely in order to prepare a deal to sell a stake in the company’s capital to Alfa Group and Goldman Sachs.

Nusinov, together with classmate Roman Tchaikovsky, went into business in the early 1990s, almost immediately after graduating from the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University. Beginning entrepreneurs, as Nusinov says, had a contact at the Volzhsky Automobile Plant and they could buy Lada cars at “normal prices” and sell them in Moscow. WITH domestic cars the partners quickly switched to foreign cars - first they imported cars from Finland and Estonia, and in 1992 they acquired the Independence company, which had already signed a dealer contract with Volvo. In 1995, dealer contracts were signed with Hyundai and Audi.

Soon Tchaikovsky and Nusinov had a third partner - Arkady Briskin. He lived in Germany and was responsible for the supply of cars from the Audi and Volkswagen factories to the Moscow Independence showrooms. Briskin received 30% in the company's business selling German foreign cars. The rapid transition to imported cars largely made the company attractive to investors.

“Western manufacturers came to Russia with their own methods, culture and constantly trained us,” recalls Alexey Nusinov. “They took us abroad and showed us how to do business, there were constant consultations in Russia, large conferences were held every six months, a specialist was assigned to us from the representative office, who constantly helped us.”

By the mid-2000s, the company already had IFRS reporting, and the portfolio of brands was supplemented by Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, and Mazda. Independence built the largest sales and service center for premium cars in Europe, and in 2006 began construction of the largest center in Eastern Europe body repair cars of all brands. Alexey Nusinov says that the company did not attract debt financing and developed using its own funds. The company did not have a general director - the shareholders themselves were in charge of management. The Russian automobile market almost doubled from 2005 to 2007, to 2.8 million sold passenger cars in year.

“Independence” followed new trends and wanted to build an automobile “village” on the Kiev highway. The company leased 12.8 hectares of land for 49 years, the rental cost was $13 million. They expected to receive money for the construction of the “village” through an IPO, but in 2007 negotiations began with A1. As Alexey Nusinov says, the owners initially planned to sell 30%. “Investors wanted to get into a company in a growing market, package it up and take it to an IPO,” he says. In 2006, Independence's revenue amounted to $680 million, in 2007 - more than $1 billion. And Independence itself was estimated at $340 million. Plans changed greatly when Roman Tchaikovsky bought out the share of the third shareholder of Independence, Arkady Briskin. Nusinov found out about this after the fact, did not want to be a junior partner and sold his share to Alpha and Goldman Sachs. Since then, Nusinov, according to him, has not communicated with Tchaikovsky.

However, from the arbitration cases it follows that Nusinov, Tchaikovsky and Briskin in 2010 took out a loan from Promsvyazbank under personal guarantees for the construction of an office and exhibition center on Berezhkovskaya embankment - about $60 million. Nusinov was unable to repay in full, and on December 10, 2015 he was declared bankrupt.

“The creditors took away the already constructed facility, in which $100 million had been invested, and also demanded money as a guarantee. But a guarantee is not money, what should I pay back? - says Alexey Nusinov. “I had to go bankrupt.” It was not possible to bankrupt German citizen Briskin in a Russian court. Tchaikovsky refused to communicate with Forbes.

Nusinov is perplexed why the story of Independence ended in failure. “There were no large construction projects, and Roman is a very attentive, cautious and not a risk-taking person,” says Nusinov. “Tchaikovsky is a strong manager, it is difficult to explain why one of the most successful and powerful companies the car market has gone to the bottom,” notes one of the founders of the AvtoSpetsTsentr group of companies, Vladimir Mozhenkov.

Independence began its credit history in April 2008 by signing an agreement with Western banks to provide a syndicated loan in the amount of $70 million. The company was proud of the loan agreement. “We showed the market that we had learned to borrow money,” recalls one of the former Independence employees. In the summer of 2008, negotiations began on the acquisition of Transtechservice, the largest car sales company in the Volga region. On its basis, the shareholders of Independence were going to build a federal dealer holding with a presence in all key regions.

Analysts then valued Transtechservice at $400–500 million, and Independence at $800 million. The deal did not take place, but even the 2008 crisis did not adjust the plans for regional expansion. In the summer of 2008, the former head of the Mosmart retail chain, Eric Blondeau, became the managing director of Independence; his annual income was estimated at $1 million - twice the average compensation of managers of a comparable level.

At the end of 2009, it became known that Nezavisimost was negotiating the purchase of the Yekaterinburg holding company Autoland, which owns salons in Yekaterinburg, Ufa and Magnitogorsk. At the end of 2008, the revenue of Independence amounted to $1.3 billion, Avtoland - $558 million. This time everything went well, and Autoland became part of the Moscow company at the end of 2010. In February 2010, the company borrowed 1.1 billion rubles from Sberbank to refinance loans, and in the fall the bank issued another 2 billion rubles to Nezavisimosti. The company opened new showrooms in the regions, increased retail space in Moscow.

Despite the rapid growth of the business, in 2011, Eric Blondeau was replaced by the former head of the Audi representative office in Russia and Volkswagen Group Rus, Oscar Akhmedov (he, like Blondeau, left the company three years after his appointment). And on March 14, 2014, financier Elena Zhuravleva was appointed chief managing director of Independence, who was supposed to solve the main problem - reduce the debt burden. By this time, the total debt of Independence was $260 million. After the annexation of Crimea and the introduction of sanctions, the ruble began to fall, and by the end of 2014, the company’s debt in rubles almost doubled. But outwardly there was no sign of collapse.

In May 2014, Independence opened a new Audi car dealership with a showroom (1000 sq. m) on Berezhkovskaya embankment. The gala evening was hosted by popular TV presenter Timur Rodriguez, while Cuban cigars were rolled in the hall to the performance of trumpeter Vadim Eilenkrig with a jazz ensemble, an aerial acrobat girl flew under the roof, conversations were held on the second floor in the lounge area with hookahs and a view of Moscow City.

Since its opening, the car dealership has been generating only losses - rental payments exceeded income. Exactly the same situation arose with another large auto center of the company - for the sale of BMW in Kotelniki on the 15th km of the Moscow Ring Road. The trading floor occupied 7,000 sq. m, rent cost $2 million per year. The difficulties of negotiations with tenants are illustrated by the example of Avilon, which in the fall of 2017 began selling BMWs at the site in Kotelniki that was vacated after Independence. Having recalculated the rent, Avilon decided that it would be more profitable to buy the auto center from the owner, the Belaya Dacha company.

Elena Zhuravleva says that management mistakes were not fatal, but the company was ruined by debts. “It all started with a $50 million loan from Sberbank; due to some dispute with Alfa, Sberbank did not renew it,” says Zhuravleva. According to her, in order to pay, Independence cleared its accounts to zero in two weeks and was left with virtually no working capital. Why didn’t Alfa-Bank help, since at the beginning of 2014 Alfa Group consolidated 49.95% of Independence? “The shareholders had a clear position: we do not lend to our companies,” says Zhuravleva. Representative A1 adds that the share in the capital of Independence has always been considered as a portfolio investment and the company did not interfere in the operating activities of the car dealer.

In 2015, Independence began selling off assets. Leroy Merlin bought a plot of land from the company on Kievskoe Highway, the Khimki-Peugeot car dealership went to the dealer Chinese cars, a huge body shop was sold to the St. Petersburg company Euroauto. Independence's staff was reduced from 4,000 to 1,600 people. According to Zhuravleva, in 2015 savings amounted to 2 billion rubles. But there was still not enough working capital, and Zhuravleva went to ask the shareholders for money. “I wanted to prove to them that you can work with money. Give it, I say, for three months, we will pay it back on time and make a profit,” she says. - A1 and Tchaikovsky gave $5 million each, we returned it on time and showed a profit. Then we received funds again on the same terms, but you can’t do business with short money.” In 2014, revenue amounted to 52.5 billion rubles (in 2013 - 57.1 billion rubles), in 2015 - 47.1 billion rubles, in 2016 - 28.6 billion rubles. The company has not shown a profit since 2012.

A1's top management was constantly looking for a replacement for Zhuravleva and did not hide this from her. As a source in the investment company says, they needed a person who would talk about the real state of affairs in Independence. “Everything that happens in a company cannot be understood while sitting on the board of directors. They showed us presentations, then they failed all plans, distrust in the numbers they brought us reached its peak,” explains Forbes’ interlocutor. But all this time Roman Tchaikovsky remained the main person in the company, and Zhuravleva was considered his person.

The problem was solved by Zhuravleva herself, announcing at the end of 2016 that she was leaving. Nikita Shchegol became the new head of Independence. Roman Tchaikovsky did not object. A1 sold the Formula Kino cinema chain, which was previously headed by Shchegol, to Alexander Mamut in April 2017.

Shareholders A1 and Tchaikovsky allocated 1 billion rubles in equal shares to save the company. Zhuravleva also asked for this amount; according to her plan, the money would save the company in October 2016, but she received it only in January 2017. "Independence" got one last chance. They promised to show the result in six months, but the plan did not work. Already in May it became obvious that money would not help. The company continued to generate losses and was unable to service its current loans. A1 decided not to postpone the problem any longer and honestly told the banks about the unviability of the car dealer.

Creditors responded to honesty by demanding that the car dealer be declared bankrupt in the fall of 2017. The story of Independence is over. A1 shareholders, according to Mikhail Fridman, lost $100 million on this project. Elena Zhuravleva is working on the creation of a children's school in Skolkovo and is engaged in crisis management. Alexey Nusinov is thinking about returning to the car market. “I know business, why not? - he says. “I communicate with Alpha, but so far, not very seriously.”

- With the participation of Elena Berezanskaya and Ekaterina Kravchenko

“From time to time we lose something, it happens”

What can you say about the results of your activities? Russian company A1? After the bankruptcy of the Independence car dealer, A1 had no major assets left.

The purchase of Independence really turned out to be unsuccessful. After the 2008 crisis, a difficult situation developed in the industry, and the company, unfortunately, was never able to get out of this crisis; the market continued to fall. And management also made various mistakes. I don’t think this is a significant blow for A1; I’m sure that Independence’s clients were not harmed. From time to time we lose something, it happens. The company was initially heavily indebted. And in a falling market, this is usually an unbearable burden.

How much did A1 lose on investments in Independence?

Approximately $100 million.

What are the shareholders' plans for A1 today?

We are at the stage of understanding and refining the business model. Knowing the realities in crisis situations, we can successfully engage in crisis management. For example, helping non-controlling shareholders fight infringement of the rights of minority shareholders, restructure bank debts on mutually acceptable terms, negotiate with honest authorities, etc. All this was and, I am sure, will be in demand at Russian market in foreseeable future. And we are also thinking about how to better build a compensation system for A1 management.

Two automakers - BMW and Volvo - broke their contracts with Independence. The company's customers claim that they can neither receive their cars nor get their money back. There are already 70 such people

Problematic "Independence": clients of one of the largest Russian car dealers they claim that he does not give cars to buyers. The Independence dealer group has been working in the market for more than twenty years, but within a week it lost contracts with two automakers at once - BMW and Volvo. What is happening and will buyers be able to get their cars that they have already paid for?

In mid-July, Gleb Pimenov and his family came to buy a car at the official BMW dealer, the Independence showroom. It was 50 thousand rubles cheaper than others. As a result, we bought two cars: another one for my mother-in-law, on credit. Moreover, she was able to pick up the car after five days, and Pimenov was promised to give his car back in 15 days. But at first they fed me with promises that it would literally be “just about.” Then the salon reported that the sales manager had quit and would have to wait a little longer. And so on until September. As a result, Pimenov took decisive action: he came to the salon and blocked the main entrance so that it could no longer be ignored.

Gleb Pimenov buyer “I parked my car opposite the entrance and turned on the alarm. Half an hour later, the head of the security service immediately arrived at the scene. He allegedly called in front of me to CEO“Independence”, they assured him that they would give me the car. I said that the action will continue until you give me my car. We called the local police officer, and investigative actions began. As a result, information appears that our car was paid for by Independence. Everyone signed. And they give us the keys, we are like: “Lord, thank God!” We got in and left. The next day, the first thing I did was read all the documents, it turned out that our deadline there had been changed. Instead of 15 days, they entered 37, so that we would have no grounds at all to present any penalties.”

About 70 people never received cars from Independence. Moreover, VIN numbers are not indicated in the contracts, it is only in one agreement, and this car was found at another dealer in Samara, says Dmitry Zolotov, coordinator of the public project “Movement”:

Dmitry Zolotov, coordinator of the public project “Movement” “When we started communicating with the senior manager, and, as we were told from his words, they will not make contact with us, because they do not agree with terrorists. People contacted us, including Nikolai, the victim, who said that he had been unable to pick up either his money or his car for more than six months. It turns out that since March 9 he has been in limbo. At first he waited three months for a car, his patience ran out, he wrote a termination agreement. Now he hasn’t been able to get money for three months. We came with him, we wanted to talk to someone from the management, but things are still there: they threw him 50 thousand - and that’s it.”

One of the Independence employees spoke with Business FM on condition of anonymity. According to him, delays in issuing cars began a year ago, and this summer the situation became critical:

— At the end of the summer, cars were no longer issued at all for two or three months. In September they proposed not to sell the cars because it was unclear what would happen next. This was the initiative of our manager directly, because he was also afraid for the sellers, some clients even managed to find the addresses where the employees were located, for example, they rented an apartment, that is, it was terribly simple. One day we were asked not to go to work. We described the situation that that’s it, we are closing, so we offer you to pay 20 thousand rubles for several months of your work, and we part ways.
— How did management explain to you why cars were not delivered to customers on time?
— This was my first experience in selling a premium brand. I was told from the very beginning that it was normal for cars to take so long to be issued, and I believed it. The managers also knew little. Everyone understood that something terrible was going on, that we had some specific financial difficulties, and the whole team tried to somehow steer it out.”​

The shareholders of one of the largest Russian car dealers are the investment company A1, part of Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, and the founder Roman Tchaikovsky. It seems that Independence was crippled by the crisis and a sharp decline in sales last year - by almost a third. Problems have arisen with debts—Independence has more than 6 billion rubles. Gazprombank recently announced that it intends to go to court “due to the presence of signs of bankruptcy.” But Nezavisimost itself told RBC that this is a technical procedure and negotiations are underway with the bank. They also explained the loss of the contract with Volvo as a technical procedure, which, following BMW, announced the termination of the dealer agreement. But what should customers do who still haven’t received their cars? Business FM asked Volvo Car Russia PR Director Anton Svekolnikov:

— At the moment, Independence does not have the opportunity to buy cars from the importer, so we recommend that clients pick up cash from the Independence company and contact other Volvo dealers.

— That is, Volvo does not take direct part in the fate of these customers?

— We are negotiating with the Independence company to ensure that they return the money to customers. But the law does not provide us with legal mechanisms to influence the Independence company regarding the return of these funds.

BMW has already issued cars at its own expense to 35 customers who made full prepayments, and is still deciding how to help the rest. It was not possible to get a prompt comment from Business FM “Independence” itself. Under the guise of a client wanting to purchase a car, Business FM producers called the company’s office, where they were assured that the showrooms were open:

— If I make a full prepayment, how long will I have to wait for the car?

— You wait 14 working days for the PTS.

— I saw the news from your company, which was not very encouraging. Tell me, how are you doing there?

— Yes, everything seems to be in order, but there is a restructuring of the company. We sell cars, our discounts are just not as big as they were before.

- No, I saw that you have problems, people can’t take their cars.

- No, everything is fine, everything is normal. If there are, then very small delays.

— Do you not have to worry about the company closing in the near future?

- Certainly.

The company says it is now “in the process of restructuring loan portfolio" And the deceived clients, who did not receive their cars, are ready to sue, but, however, they are afraid that there will be no way to return their money to Independence.

The Independence car dealer is essentially dead. In the fall, all automakers and brands broke contracts with him, and at the end of November the dealer closed all showrooms, and one of his creditors, Gazprombank, filed bankruptcy claims for six companies of the Independence group. A ghostly chance of salvation remains, but everything has already gone too far, states an employee of another bank, the lender of Independence. According to the Ruspres agency, its co-owners, Alfa Group of Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven and German Khan, tried to save the company, but the $20 million they allocated for additional capitalization of the enterprise disappeared without a trace. The son-in-law of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may be involved in the disappearance.

No cars

“I blocked the main entrance with my car”, “I will never buy anything at this car dealership and will never recommend it to anyone either”, “I made a big mistake that I paid for the car right away”, “waiting for a car for one month or more is hell... Such messages on the BMW forum were written by Independence clients at the end of summer - beginning of autumn. As it turned out, the company delayed issuing cars for months, without explaining anything to customers.

On September 12, BMW blocked Independence's access to the new car ordering system, and on October 1, it terminated the contract. The delay in issuing cars by Independence violated the terms of the agreement on the status of an official dealer with the importer, BMW explained.

The termination of the contract with BMW was a severe blow for the group, admits the representative of Independence. Following BMW, relationships with other importers began to develop. In October, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover terminated their contracts with the dealer. A Volvo representative explained the gap by “reputational and other losses,” and Jaguar Land Rover by the fact that the “views on business development” of the importer and Independence no longer coincided. In November, Mazda, Ford, Audi, Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Volkswagen terminated their contracts.

Independence did not issue 47 fully paid cars to BMW buyers, says a representative of the automaker. BMW Group Russia had to issue them at its own expense. Another couple of dozen people made a symbolic advance payment for cars (from 10 thousand to 50 thousand rubles, less than 1% of the cost). Their cases are resolved individually, says a representative of BMW Group Russia.

“Independence” did not issue a little more than 30 fully paid Volvo cars, says a representative of the auto concern: the importer recommended that clients solve the problem themselves with the car dealer. Which does not characterize this automaker from the best side. A representative of Volkswagen Group Rus admits that the dealer did not issue fully paid vehicles and did not return initial payments to customers. He refused to provide statistics. But he said that the company handed over the cars to buyers at its own expense. A solution has also been found for customers who have made an advance payment for new cars in an amount less than their cost. The representative of Volkswagen Group Rus did not disclose details.

Buyers from Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, Peugeot and Mitsubishi had no problems receiving the vehicles, representatives of these companies said. Their colleague from Mazda Motor Rus did not provide comments.

Independence's debt, according to the company, to banks exceeds 6 billion rubles. “The group’s management, together with key creditors, worked together to find options for debt restructuring,” says a representative of Independence. “Unfortunately, it is not possible to carry it out under current conditions.” The company, he said, expects that new bankruptcy processes for the group's companies will be initiated.

“Gazprombank has repeatedly restructured the debt of the Independence group,” says a bank representative. But some creditors began making their first demands to declare the dealer bankrupt back in October. In this situation, the bank “considered that recovery was impossible and it would also be advisable to file a bankruptcy petition in court,” said a Gazprombank representative. To repay the debt, creditors will consider the possibility of holding the final beneficiaries of the Independence group and its top managers liable for bankruptcy, promises a person close to one of the bank creditors of the dealer.

Hope for growth

Independence was founded in 1992 by Roman Tchaikovsky, and in 2008 the investment division of Alfa Group of Mikhail Fridman and his partners A1 (49.95%) became its shareholder. At that time, the group, according to Autobusiness Review, was one of the ten largest dealer holdings in Russia. A1 is “not a strategic investor” and will leave the business when he can sell his stake in Independence at fair value, he said earlier in an interview with Vedomosti, now ex-president A1 Mikhail Khabarov. Khabarov was soon replaced by the son-in-law of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Alexander Vinokurov, but this moment never came.

A1 was a financial investor in Independence and was not involved in its operational activities, says its representative. Late last year, the dealer's management reported a difficult financial situation and requested support, which was provided, he added. Shareholders participated in the additional capitalization of Independence Group in the amount of 1 billion rubles. In addition, in the spring of 2017, a change of management was carried out in order to restructure the company’s debt load and optimize financial activities. “Unfortunately, as we see, the situation has not normalized,” complains representative A1. Independence itself explains the collapse as an incorrect business development strategy. It navigated the 2008 crisis successfully, relying on the premium segment, a company representative recalls: then the market quickly recovered. In 2014, Independence chose a similar strategy, counting on a quick market recovery. But the crisis turned out to be completely different, he admits: both sales and profitability of new cars fell. But the high debt burden, carried over from past periods of active growth and infrastructure expansion, has not gone away. This resulted in a serious loss being accumulated over several years, says an A1 representative. And constant pressure from manufacturers to fulfill sales plans led to the fact that new cars were sold almost at cost. According to Autobusiness Review, since 2012, the company’s revenue has fallen by 2 times, and car sales by 4.6 times.

Even before the 2014 crisis, Independence was managed ineffectively, argues a former employee of the company: the management sat on multimillion-dollar annual salaries, each had several deputies, many with personal drivers. The company had a lot of unreasonable expenses.

The large share of dealer centers in the regions has not added stability, says a person close to the company. According to Autobusiness Review, in 2015, out of 24 Independence dealership centers, eight were located in the regions. And in 2017 - six of the remaining 13. In addition, many of the buildings for Independence dealerships were rented, and after the crisis the company did not revise rental rates and renegotiate contracts. For example, the dealership center on Belaya Dacha occupied about 7 thousand square meters. m. Such gigantic areas could only be afforded in a growing market; rent could cost $2 million a year, which is a lot of money. “Out of 10 dealership centers, four were leased; the lease was carried out on commercial terms and was regularly reviewed,” argues a representative of Independence.

Sales fell, but loans remained

The problem for dealers is that first people stopped buying cars with their own, then they stopped buying them on credit, and then they stopped getting repairs in official centers and went to garages, says an employee of the bank, Independence's creditor.

Over the past decade, dealers have experienced two crises. Sales initially collapsed after 2008. But three years later the decline was reversed, and in 2012 a record number of cars were sold in Russia.

And then sales fell for four years in a row, and the market for new cars and light commercial vehicles decreased by half - according to the Association European business, with almost 3 million pieces. in 2012 to 1.43 million in 2016. Bankruptcy of dealers in such conditions is inevitable. But the pace of contraction of dealer networks did not correspond to the scale of the decline in sales. According to the analytical agency Autostat, from 2012 to 2016 the number of dealership centers decreased by 16% - from 4068 to 3413.

The car dealership business is traditionally a highly indebted industry, two top managers of dealership companies explain: it is possible to successfully and quickly develop a business only through borrowed funds. Dealers attract loans for the development of a dealer network and the construction of centers for which manufacturers may have special requirements, says VTB Capital analyst Vladimir Bespalov.

Traditionally, the profitability of the dealership business is already low, Bespalov points out: in good years is approximately 3–6%. “Dealers earn practically nothing on new cars: the main income comes from service and the sale of spare parts,” notes Sergei Udalov, executive director of Autostat. Attempts to diversify revenue did not lead to much success. New car sales continue to generate the lion's share of revenue for dealers. Hopes to receive comparable money from service and trade in used cars were not justified.

Alor Broker analyst Kirill Yakovenko believes that the aggravation of the situation in Independence could have been influenced by a complex of factors: the crisis state of the economy, a sharp decline in sales in 2016, weak activity in the market compared to other participants, an illiterate strategy for working with automakers, as well as an increased debt burden. “Six months ago, one of the dealer’s shareholders, the A1 group, had already recapitalized Independence by $20 million, but to continue the operation of such a business, even then it was necessary to narrow the number of car dealerships and be the first to terminate contracts with ineffective brands,” he notes in an interview with RBC. The Ruspres agency has already drawn attention to the fact that after the disappearance of this money, Alexander Vinokurov had to leave the post of president of A1.

As Kommersant has learned, competitors are beginning to dismantle the dealership centers of the troubled Nezavisimost Group of Companies: the Belaya Dacha center, which sold BMW, may be taken over by Avilon. BMW notes that they never received money from Independence for the cars they sold and give them to customers at their own expense. Other concerns, including Volvo, have had similar problems with dealers. At the same time, Gazprombank has already announced that it intends to bankrupt the problematic dealer.

The Avilon holding may take over the Belaya Dacha BMW dealership, which is now part of the Nezavisimost Group of Companies, industry sources told Kommersant. Avilon works mainly with premium and luxury brands; it already has BMW in its portfolio - a center on Volgogradsky Prospekt. Independence has two BMW dealerships. One of Kommersant’s interlocutors says that Independence rents the building of the center in Belaya Dacha. Another Kommersant source notes that we can talk about both renting and purchasing a legal entity along with the unresolved obligations of the previous owner. Another Kommersant source noted that there are no plans to hold a tender to select a new BMW dealer.

The Nezavisimost Group's portfolio includes Audi, VW, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Ford, Peugeot, Mitsubishi. Investment group A1 owns 49.95%, the rest is owned by Roman Tchaikovsky.

In mid-September, Vedomosti reported that Independence did not fulfill agreements with BMW, which led to the suspension of the dealer’s work with the brand. According to the automaker, the dealer violated the deadlines for transferring already paid cars to customers because he did not buy the title from the importer. Independence insisted that they intended to fulfill their obligations to customers, and also claimed that they continued to conduct a constructive dialogue with the BMW representative office. On Wednesday, Independence announced that the dealer and BMW had resumed issuing cars to customers, settling "all technical issues", customer service contacts clients to agree on dates. A Kommersant source familiar with the situation notes that up to a hundred clients encountered the problem, about half with full payment. He did not rule out that the importer would file a claim against the dealer.

On Thursday, BMW did not comment on the situation with the center at Belaya Dacha, but stated that they actually issue cars to customers at the site, taking financial risks to myself. BMW never received money for the cars from Independence, and two weeks ago a notice of contract termination was sent (effective October 1). Cars are issued after payment verification; five cars were issued on Wednesday. Independence told Kommersant that they were considering the possibility of terminating the contract with BMW due to “the constant unprofitability of the sale of brand cars and the lack of prospects.” Avilon did not comment on the situation, but noted that BMW - profitable business for the company, and emphasized the interest in cooperation with the brand.

However, it turned out that Independence also has conflicts with other suppliers. On Thursday, Volvo told Kommersant that the dealer is not able to order cars, information about it has been removed from the website, and the company does not recommend that customers contact Nezavisimost. Volvo retains the option for the dealer to receive vehicles upon full payment. “We set a condition for the dealer to issue all paid cars to customers as soon as possible or return the prepayment,” the company says. In the coming days, Volvo will decide on further cooperation with the dealer. Jaguar Land Rover “Kommersant” only noted that “Independence” is official dealer, but now he doesn’t sell cars. Mitsubishi (they work on 100% prepayment) and Ford Sollers did not encounter similar problems. Peugeot said that there had been no complaints from buyers regarding the delivery of cars by Independence, but added that the contract with the dealer expires at the end of the year, and the issue of its extension is under consideration. On Thursday, GPB published notices of intention to file claims in connection with the presence of signs of bankruptcy against the Nezavisimost Group of Companies.

The financial situation of Independence has remained difficult for several years. In February, it was announced that shareholders would further finance the company (the volumes were not specified) and would replace top management. In 2015, Nezavisimost restructured its debt to Gazprombank for 2.6 billion rubles. (as Kommersant wrote, the loan was extended at least until 2019). A1 noted that they are in the process of negotiations with banks and “it will be possible to talk about additional investments only after their completion.” Previously, Interfax sources claimed that A1 refused to finance the dealer and would not interfere with its bankruptcy if one of the counterparties initiates this process.

Car dealer "Independence" has stopped selling cars in its showrooms in the capital. The group, against which a bankruptcy claim was filed, still has several centers in the regions.

The Nezavisimost auto dealer group has closed its last car sales points in Moscow. A source close to the group told RBC about this and was confirmed by a company partner. A representative of Independence confirmed to RBC the closure of all Moscow salons of the group.

The car dealer's website and car dealership phone numbers are not working. According to the official websites of Audi and Volkswagen (the last two brands with which Independence had dealer agreements), the company is no longer their official dealer. A representative of Volkswagen (which includes the brands Volkswagen, Audi, and others) said that there have been no “changes in the status” of Independence: the company remains a dealer of its brands.

Now the group continues to operate several auto centers in the regions - Ford in Yekaterinburg and Ufa, Peugeot in Yekaterinburg. A representative of Ford Sollers told RBC that the group's car dealerships in these cities continue to sell cars, but as of December 1, the contract with Independence will be terminated. A Peugeot spokeswoman said the contract with the dealer is valid until the end of 2017.

Independence's problems worsened at the beginning of 2017. The company changed its manager and began optimizing business processes. The total debt of the group is about 6 billion rubles. Its main creditors are Gazprombank and Sberbank. On November 24, Gazprombank filed bankruptcy claims against a number of Independence structures.

At the beginning of 2017, the group had eight owned and four leased dealership centers in Moscow and the regions. In July, the car dealer closed a number of car dealerships in Moscow (Volvo, Land Rover/Jaguar and Volkswagen) and Yekaterinburg (Volvo, Mitsubishi and Kia). At the end of September, Independence lost its contract with BMW. Then a representative of the dealer told RBC that the group was considering the possibility of terminating the agreement due to unprofitable sales of this brand. According to him, in 2017, Independence lost about 300 million rubles on sales of cars of this brand. due to low margins. Later, Kommersant, citing its sources, reported that the Avilon car dealer group could occupy the Belaya Dacha dealership center, which Independence rented for the sale of BMW cars. In October, Volvo, Jaguar/Land Rover, Mazda and Mitsubishi also terminated their dealer contracts with Independence. As a result, the dealer was left with only Audi, Ford, Volkswagen and Peugeot.

Chairman of the Board of Avilon AG Andrei Pavlovich told RBC that Avilon is now in the process of completing a transaction to purchase a BMW auto center. According to him, dealers specializing in the sale of specific brands may show interest in other Independence car dealerships. “It is very difficult to repurpose auto centers for other activities, and the network in Moscow is very established in terms of location. If banks suddenly sell Land Rover centers, then dealers of this brand will be more likely to be interested. It will be possible to work there only with those brands that Independence worked with,” he concluded.