It is surprising how ordinary Ferrari gave 7 million euros to the estate of Kroymans

About the episode

Entrepreneur Frits Kroymans spent decades building the Kroymans automotive empire. At its peak, the group of about 150 private companies traded around 2 billion euros in cars and parts from Jaguar, Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, but also Kia, among others. Importing, selling, renting, insuring, financing, renting, maintaining: Kroymans did it all in a bad way.

In 2003, Kroymans created a plan to start selling American cars in Germany. But the Germans aren’t too keen on that, which is causing financial drama. And then there is a shortage of credit. During 2008, financial problems worsened, until Kroymans went bankrupt in March 2009.

But when Frits Kemp, then manager and founder of Fort Advocaten, arrives at Kroymans, everyone seems to be under the impression that the group of vehicles can still be saved…

Under the keepers

Not every entrepreneurial adventure ends with a listing in the Quotation 500, not every company survives a major crisis, not every company knows how to play the financial game well. And when everything goes wrong, when chaos reigns and creditors are shouting at the gate, then the era of the bankrupt begins.

In this series, financial journalists Elisa Hermanides and Thomas van Zijl talk about the unforgettable bankruptcies and trustees, the destroyers of the business community. Subscribe to get a new episode every Friday. Or listen to BNR on Fridays at 2pm.

Editors: Jochem Visser / Design: Gijs Friesen and Connor Clerx / Sound editing: Wesley Schouwenaars / Illustration: FDMG | Milja Oortwijn / Final editing: Elisa Hermanides / Thanks to: Wendy Beenakker, Sharine de Rooij and Bram Mullink