The Commercial Court No. 1 of Las Palmas has awarded the Taurito hotels to the Martinón Group for €85 million. The judge rejected Lopesan's slightly higher offer as "irrelevant" compared to Grumasa's operational solvency. Lopesan has five days to appeal.
The battle for control of the Taurito tourist resort has entered a phase of maximum legal tension following the decision of the Commercial Court No. 1 of Las Palmas. Judge Alberto López Villarrubia has finally awarded the Santana Cazorla hotel complex to División Turística Valle Taurito, a company linked to the Martinón Group, for €85 million. The ruling accepts the arguments of the Lener bankruptcy administrators, prioritizing the continued operation of the Livvo brand over Lopesan's financial offer, which, despite being €1.000 higher, was deemed "irrelevant" in the overall liquidation plan.
The court order bases this rejection on three key points that Lopesan is now considering challenging. The first is the complete transfer of the contract for the Lago Taurito water park, an asset that Martinón is including to protect the tourist packages already sold to international tour operators, while Eustasio López's group explicitly excluded it. According to the judge, this maneuver by Lopesan would have generated a risk of multimillion-euro compensation payments for the bankrupt Mar Abierto, a liability that Martinón's offer neutralizes by guaranteeing a seamless transition in the business unit.
Another point of contention lies in the management of receivables for services not yet rendered. The judge emphasizes that the tour operators' deposits, estimated at nearly €3 million, will remain in the bankruptcy estate under Martinón's management, while Lopesan intended to incorporate them into its own funds. This difference in cash flow, favoring the bankruptcy estate, more than compensates for the extra euro per thousand offered by the Meloneras-based hotel giant, tipping the balance of assets toward Grumasa's proposal due to its greater benefit to creditors.
Lopesan now has a critical five-day window to file an appeal and try to halt the handover of the hotels. The company has the opportunity to argue that its nominal economic advantage should prevail or that the assessments of contractual risks are subjective. If they fail to overturn the ruling, the finality of the decision will compel Martinón to deposit the 85 million euros within ten days. Should Grumasa fail to make the payment, the contract would automatically revert to Lopesan, which remains in legal limbo awaiting a mistake by its competitor or a shift in the court's decision.
