ODSHERRED: There are harsh criticisms of Odsherred Varme's management and especially the former CFO in a report that Bech-Bruun has about management responsibility in the municipality's heating scandal.
"It is our assessment that the management was primarily responsible for the fact that sufficient preparatory work was not prepared for the district heating project, and that the board was not sufficiently informed," it is stated, among other things, in the report that Odsherred Forsyning has published.
According to the report, the fundamental problem was that the preparatory work was not thorough enough.
In hindsight, it is obvious that the Odsherred Syd project should have been cancelled in April 2022, it says. With the information available at the time, the management board should have realized that continuing the project entailed a significant risk.
The lawyers write that it may be necessary to investigate further whether the management board can be held responsible for not having had an actual recalculation of the entire project done by April 2022 at the latest, when the construction costs appeared to have doubled and there was a risk of further price increases.
Criticism of CFO
The statement is particularly critical of former CFO Claus Thorsen, who was also acting as CEO twice for approximately ten months. CEO, while CEO Fanny Villadsen was on maternity leave.
In April 2022, he received information about large price increases, which he did not pass on to the board. In addition, according to the document, he changed a presentation to the board that another employee had made so that the figures did not look alarming.
In addition, it appears that Fanny Villadsen actually sent an email to Claus Thorsen during her maternity leave, in which she called for a "worst case scenario", but that such a scenario does not appear to have been made either then or later.
There are several indications that the board should have considered whether the project should continue at a board meeting in February 2023 at the latest, and that the board neglected to inform the board of the significant risk in the project. By "the board" is meant Claus Thorsen in particular, while Fanny Villadsen's responsibility is more uncertain since she was on leave, the lawyers emphasize.
The major overruns were first mentioned to the board at the end of 2023, but without it apparently being discussed in more detail. All in all, the board did not get the correct picture of the finances.
"In our assessment, the responsibility for this situation lies primarily with the person who was acting as CEO until August 23, 2023," the report states.
The district heating scandal in Odsherred
In the fall of 2021, the city council gave the green light to a district heating project that was to supply five towns in the southern part of the municipality with district heating. The project was to cost 571 million kroner, but the costs gradually increased to 1.6 billion kroner.
In January 2024, CFO Claus Thorsen was fired and later expelled.
In March-April 2024, Odsherred Forsyning announced that the project had exceeded the budget and was slowed down. The chairman of the board resigned, and director Fanny Villadsen also announced her resignation.
In October 2024, Odsherred Varme and the parent company Odsherred Forsyning went into restructuring with a debt of 1.5 billion kroner in the wake of a collapsed district heating project. Nordea, which is the largest creditor, appoints the reconstructor.
Even if the board was not properly informed and did not act in bad faith, it is still criticized for having been too passive in relation to the largest investment in the company's history.
The lawyers' assessment is that the lack of interest in the construction costs through 2023 "may trigger liability for negligence". However, there are arguments both for and against.
Buyer interest postpones rescue plan
The report from Bech-Bruun is an appendix to the reconstruction proposal for Odsherred Varme, which will be considered in the bankruptcy court on Tuesday, July 1. In contrast, the reconstructors have asked for a two-month extension of the reconstruction of the parent company, Odsherred Forsyning, writes Sjællandske Nyheder.
The future of the parent company depends on what happens when the parties meet in the bankruptcy court on Tuesday. But there have also been inquiries from interested buyers, the reconstructor informs the media.
- We expect that the reconstruction proposal will be adopted, but we do not formally know, and before that happens, we cannot make the reconstruction plan for the parent company. And then we also need to clarify the future ownership of the supply, reconstructor Christian Jul Madsen explains to Sjællandske Nyheder.
He says that during the process, the reconstructor has received inquiries from serious players who want to buy parts or the entire supply.
- We are of course in dialogue with them to hear what kind of interest it is. We are obliged to do that as a reconstructor, Christian Jul Madsen tells Sjællandske Nyheder.
He does not want to reveal who has shown interest in buying the utility company.
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