Local creditors line up in Capmark filing

Twenty-four creditors of a national commercial real estate lender that recently filed bankruptcy are in Richmond.

It’s not clear yet whether payments to those companies will be delayed or reduced, which can happen in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

This week, Capmark Financial Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company is a leading lender to developers of office towers, strip malls, hotels and multi-family properties.

The lender listed assets of $20.1 billion and liabilities of $21 billion as of June 30 in the filing. Last month the Pennsylvania-based company posted a quarterly loss of $1.6 billion amid rising defaults on commercial mortgages.

No help from the Federal Government

As the financial system imploded in late 2008, two local companies sought help from the federal government. S&K Menswear, which could no longer borrow enough money from its main lender, Wells Fargo, to stock its stores, met with Rep. Eric Cantor to try to find other lenders. He was unable to help. According to a former employee who traveled with the chief executive, S&K officials went to more than 40 banks trying to find a new line of credit. Those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in early February and has finished much of the liquidation. And in early October, LandAmerica, whose headquarters is only a mile or so from S&K, sent then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson a letter pleading for a loan to help the company pay customers of its 1031 exchange business.  The company could not access investments called auction-rate securities that were frozen because the market for them dried up. That problem forced LandAmerica to file for bankruptcy in November.

Do I hear $10 million for firedog?

The rest of Circuit City’s intellectual property, including the firedog brand and a database of 30 million customer contacts, is going on the auction block Aug. 18. And it may reap more than the $14 million that the Circuit City name fetched at auction earlier this year.

MeadWestvaco repackaging business model

As far as big-name companies in Richmond go, MeadWestvaco seems like an island of stability in a hurricane of woe. On July 29, it announced second quarter net income of $125 million or 72 cents per share, up from $56 million or 33 cents per share for the period a year ago. (You can read more about the quarterly results here.)  Revenue was lower than last year, but the company was more profitable.

Electric bill lower, but hang on for more increases

The next time you get your power bill from Dominion, it might be a couple bucks cheaper, but don’t get used to it. When a handful of adjustments take effect, the average electricity bill in Virginia for residential customers will rise from $108.73 to $116.27. Business owners can expect commercial rates to rise by 6.9 percent. But in the short term, they will likely fall. As of yesterday, the average Dominion residential customer will see a reduction of about $3.64 because of lower commodities prices. “The old fuel costs were calculated when gas was $4 a gallon, and we all remember what that was like,” said David Botkins, a spokesperson at Dominion. “There is a lot that goes into calculating an energy bill but the fuel costs that are part of it reflect the lower price of gas and other energy-producing commodities.” Uranium and ...

Monday Q&A: Auto bankruptcies bring the pain

GM is expected to file for bankruptcy today. That will be the second domestic car manufacturer in as many months. Both GM and Chrysler have decided that they must cut the number of dealers around the country. And that means cuts in the Richmond area, where the industry employs 3,500.

Local universities keep builders building

Even with shrinking endowments and more cost-conscious students, local universities are plowing ahead with major construction projects, building dorms, athletic facilities and research centers. That’s been a blessing for some local firms.

S&K To Liquidate

Another Richmond-based retailer will be winding down in the unglamorous fashion of a going-out-of-business sale. Just like Circuit City before it, at the end of its corporate life no other company was interested in buying S&K Famous Menswear and trying to turn it around. Not even Stuart Siegel, the son of the founder who owned 15 percent of the company when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early February. Discussions with possible investors and local banks did not materialize, according to former chief executive Joseph Oliver, and suppliers were getting nervous and less willing to provide clothes on credit. The company was founded in 1967 by two brothers who found a niche selling quality men’s clothes at a good price, but that niche evaporated as fewer men bought suits and the lower-end marketplace became more cutthroat, according to Oliver (more from ...

VCU Medical Center already paperless

VCU Medical Center has gone almost completely paperless, putting the local hospital at the fore of a federal push to digitize records.

Study says city support needed for ballpark

After reviewing the results of a $100,000 economic feasibility study, Mayor Dwight Jones still isn’t quite ready to greenlight a $318 million mixed-use project in Shockoe Bottom.

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