The only ice cream cafe for Ben & Jerry’s in Norway, which was located on the palace facing Karl Johan in Oslo, is closed permanently.
– It is true that it has been wound up. There have been announced auctions, confirms owner and CEO Henrik Motrøen.
Motrøen owned the business together with Kjetil Hamre (33.7%) and Heide Anette Stålesen (16.3%). He doesn’t want to go into the reason why the store had to close in March / April, but the corona virus was part of the reason.
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The American ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s now has no cafes left in Norway, but kiosks and shops still sell their ice cream in cups.
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Many red years
Although the coronavirus may be to blame, the situation was serious for Ben & Jerry’s long before that. The company, which in Norway was called BJ Norge AS, had negative equity for several years in a row. BJ Norge AS has been in deficit in all operating years since 2014.
Operating revenues fell from NOK 11.4 million in 2016 to NOK 6.7 million in 2018, resulting in a loss of NOK 80,000, following a million deficit in 2017. The company had negative equity of NOK 729,000 in the last available financial year. The 2019 accounts are not clear – the bankruptcy was declared as of late April.
The risk assessment has been at CCC (very high) since January 2019. It appears from the balance sheet that the company has not had a loss buffer to cover or pay down the company’s debt.
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