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Eurosender announces expansion

Eurosender, a London-based Slovenian start-up that provides a leading European online booking system for courier services, has attracted an investment from the mail and telecommunications company, Post Luxembourg. The firm will use the investment for further expansion to foreign markets and new jobs.

Eurosender, which was established in 2014 by Jan Štefe and Tim Potočnik, has around 20,000 business users and a number of private users in Europe. Potočnik stated that Post Luxembourg is an exceptional partner with a lot of logistics expertise, a well-developed network of contacts around the world and stable infrastructure. "With their help it will be easier to realise the goal of becoming the largest online centre for logistics services in Europe," he said, adding that the investor was not looking only for quick profit.
Achim Taylor, Head of the Logistics Division at Luxembourg's largest employer, said that they had decided to diversify their portfolio and services, and to increase their presence in the digital market. Eurosender has developed a platform through which users can send a package pallet at a favourable price. It allows the company to negotiate better prices from partner companies, including parcel delivery companies, DPD, DHL and GLS.

According to Potočnik, Eurosender is experiencing strong growth. In 2017, revenues grew more than 200 percent, reaching EUR 2.5m. The business currently employs 30 people abroad and intends to employ an additional 40 in Slovenia this year.

Tim Potočnik, Achim Taylor, Jan Štefe

Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

 

Cerar indicates that the government could shield NLB from Croatian lawsuits

On 28 February, Prime Minister Miro Cerar said that "the government will have to help NLB in some form" if the Croatian claims related to Yugoslav-era savings deposits develops into "a serious conundrum". He reiterated that any settlement of LB bank claims resulting from the verdicts of the Croatian court is at odds with the law.

Cerar stated that "NLB has to do all it can to prevent potential enforcement attempts affecting its assets," adding that "the government will have to help in some form if this develops into a serious conundrum". Slovenia has been rejecting the view that NLB (Nova Ljubljanska Banka) is the successor of Ljubljanska banka (LB), which was determined in a special constitutional law adopted in 1994.

The continuing lawsuits in Croatia have raised concerns about the contingent liabilities potentially reaching hundreds of millions of euro. The contingent liabilities were also one of the reasons why Slovenia delayed privatising the bank, despite State aid covenants mandating that it should have been privatised by the end of 2017.

The news that NLB settled at least two claims, which unofficially were to avoid suffering significant business damage in Croatia, is a new development, as is Cerar's statement about the potential help from the government, which could confirm unofficial reports about the possibility of Slovenia assuming responsibility for any costs NLB would incur as a result of the lawsuits. It comes as pressure is increasing from the European Commission for Slovenia to privatise the bank. Cerar could "not say at this stage how and when the government could help as the final consultations are ongoing". He stressed "that all this needs to be seen in the context of respecting the principles of succession".

  

Dr Miro Cerar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia

Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA

 

Construction of Emonika train and bus station delayed again

The construction of a new train and bus station in Ljubljana has been delayed, yet again, as one of the key investors has withdrawn from the project, which should have been completed in late 2009.

Dnevnik reported on 27 February that Mas Real Estate, one of the two investors for the shopping mall planned as a part of the station, stated in its year-end business report that the project had been side-tracked. The report said that, in January, it had become clear that some regulatory issues had become insurmountable and that the company would focus on other projects. The cost to end the project would be EUR 1.5m, of which EUR 600,000 would be incurred by Mas Real Estate.

Prime Capital, the other investor, is still interested in the project but the land owners, all majority-owned by Granit Polus, have not been persuaded by the timeline for the project, according to Csaba Toth, the project manager. The first investment agreement was signed by the national railways operator and Hungarian developer, TriGranit, in 2007. It was estimated that the project would be completed in 2009.

Initially, the project was valued at EUR 220m, but the estimates continued to grow, according to TriGranit, because of ever new demands by the State. By the end of 2012, the cost estimate reached EUR 350m. TriGranit broke the contract in 2014.

   

Initial model of the Emonika project.

Photo: Stanko Gruden/STA