Bigben Again Delays Annual Accounts After Failure to Repay €43 Million in Bonds
Key Facts
On July 20, Bigben Interactive announced another delay in publishing its annual financial statements, after statutory approval of its parent-company and consolidated accounts was not completed within the required deadlines, according to a company filing. The company said the delay came as it held discussions with its main financial creditors to restructure its debt. The postponement process began in April, when the company delayed the announcement of sales and results for fiscal year 2025/2026 amid conciliation proceedings and creditor talks. The April filing set replacement dates for the publication of sales and results, before the company announced in July that its annual accounts would be delayed again. The sequence of announcements reflects the link between the financial disclosure timetable and efforts to address the debt and reach an agreement with creditors.
Conciliation proceedings began on March 4, 2026, after the Lille Métropole Commercial Court opened them for the company, according to the filing cited by Euronext. On April 16, Bigben announced it was postponing publication of fiscal-year sales, originally scheduled for April 27, to May 18. It also delayed the annual results announcement, originally scheduled for June 1, to July 20 after the market close. But the revised date passed without publication of the accounts, as the company announced that day that their approval could not be completed within the statutory deadline. In its filing, it said debt-restructuring discussions with financial creditors were still under way.
The financial pressure stems from the failure to make a planned partial repayment of bonds exchangeable for Nacon shares. On February 20, Bigben asked for temporary suspension of trading in its shares and bonds after a banking issue prevented repayment of €43 million scheduled for February 19. The company said at the time that the bank had rejected the withdrawal notice at the last minute, preventing completion of the repayment. The company then entered conciliation proceedings and discussions with its creditors over debt restructuring. The failed repayment provides direct financial context for the disclosure delays, while the company also said it was reviewing strategic options related to the scope of its assets.
Annual results published later show the scale of the decline in the period ended March 31, 2026. Group revenue was €284.5 million, compared with €288.0 million in fiscal year 2024/2025. The company posted a net loss of €394.9 million in 2025/2026, compared with a loss of €0.3 million in the previous year. The results included impairment of fixed assets and goodwill totaling €369.4 million through the end of March. This performance provides context for the fiscal year whose accounts were delayed, but does not change the fact that July's announcement concerned the incomplete approval of the statements by the statutory deadline.
On August 17, the Lille Métropole Commercial Court opened accelerated safeguard proceedings for the company, a judicial step following conciliation negotiations with creditors. Bigben later announced the completion of the sale of its subsidiary Bigben Connected to Modelabs, receiving €35 million when the transaction closed in October. The court extended the safeguard proceedings until December 17, 2026, and set December 9 for a hearing to review the rescue plan. The company said a vote on the draft safeguard plan would precede the court's ruling on it. According to its filing, restructuring transactions are expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2027.