court awards taurito hotels martin group lopesan dispute

Court Awards Taurito Hotels to Martín Group in Landmark Ruling

Court resolves major tourism asset dispute

The Commercial Court number 1 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has awarded the Martín Group the hotels auctioned off in the creditors’ meeting of Santana Cazorla, assets for which Lopesan was also bidding. In an order issued on Tuesday, Judge Alberto López Villarrubia resolves the dispute that the two tourism giants in the Islands have been engaged in for nearly a year over the acquisition of the Valle Taurito, Costa Taurito, and Lago Taurito hotels in Mogán, and the concession of the Hotel Las Tirajanas in San Bartolomé de Tirajana.

Bidding war and judicial criteria

Following a sale process managed by a specialised entity, two maximum bids were submitted for these assets of the bankrupt company Mar Abierto, which belonged to the once-powerful business holding of the Santana Cazorla brothers. The Martín Group submitted an offer of €85 million through its company División Turística Valle Taurito. Lopesan’s proposal, via its subsidiary Isla Marina, was €1,000 higher. However, the judge has ruled that the strict criteria of a pure auction, where the highest bidder wins, does not apply. Instead, a hybrid procedure must consider other elements, such as the assumption of existing contracts or the stance of the workforce. It is for this reason that he decided to award the hotels to the Martín Group, in an order that is not yet final.

Three key factors tipped the scales

It was the bankruptcy administrator himself, Amalio José Miralles, who submitted a reasoned report in favour of awarding the assets to the Martín Group, citing three factors which the judge later adopted to break the technical tie on price. Firstly, the serious detriment caused, in his opinion, by Lopesan’s decision not to assume the contract for operating the water park and car park that serves the hotels. According to the administrator, this exclusion would have caused economic harm to the bankrupt company (Mar Abierto), forcing it to assume compensation and potential lawsuits, as the park is an attraction included in holiday packages.

Secondly, the court order references Martín’s acceptance that the rights to collect an estimated €2.5 million from tour operators would remain with the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of the creditors. Lopesan demanded that this claim be assigned to them, which would have diminished the estate’s assets, the resolution notes.

The third factor was the preference of the workers’ representatives for the proposal submitted by Martín, which committed to taking on all staff with current employment contracts on the transfer date, maintaining their seniority and acquired rights. Isla Marina, in contrast, excluded those who were on leave of absence.

Lopesan’s objections overruled

The order dismisses the objections raised by Lopesan, which argued that its offer was superior and that Martín’s was invalid because it linked the award of the hotel package with that of commercial premises. The judge refers to prior rulings in which he agreed the auction should be resolved by separating the lots and that, therefore, these conditional linkages tying the purchase of one lot to another would not be taken into account.

The magistrate also emphasises that this was not a strict highest-price auction and that the exclusion of assuming the water park contract or the retention of past tour operator collections harmed the bankrupt company. Lopesan maintained that the bankruptcy administrator had applied an unforeseen rule to the award criteria.

For its part, the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Town Council requested the suspension of the transfer of Hotel Las Tirajanas due to an ongoing administrative procedure that could resolve its concession. The judge rejected this, indicating that Martín assumes the legal risk of that procedure.

Next steps and payment deadline

The order gives División Turística Valle Taurito ten days to deposit the €85 million into the court’s account. This period will begin once the resolution becomes final. For now, it can be appealed for reconsideration (before the same judge).

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