Nenad Bakić: I did not conduct any ‘marketing and business acrobatics’ with Varteks

Recently, we wrote about Varteks facing serious financial problems. Specifically, with debts of 22 million euros, while the land on which it operates is worth 26 million euros. HBOR and Zagrebačka banka rejected the management’s plan to settle the debt, which could mean the end for the Varaždin company. Despite numerous rescue attempts, including pre-bankruptcy settlements and recapitalizations, Varteks is struggling with the long-term consequences of poor management decisions and market changes, which is part of a broader trend of the decline of companies with valuable real estate in Croatia.

– The Varaždin company, despite all marketing and business acrobatics, was not saved even by investor Nenad Bakić, who has since exited ownership and management. He only managed to lobby for the 2021 ‘Varteks quarter – urban regeneration’ to be declared a strategic state investment project – we wrote at that time in the text about Varteks.

Nenad Bakić contacted Lider with a response to that part of the article, which we hereby fully convey.

– I did not ‘lobby’ for anything, but Varteks, in accordance with existing laws, especially the Law on Strategic Investment Projects of the Republic of Croatia, and that when I no longer managed it, secured only some necessary, but unfortunately missing, prerequisites for unnecessary real estate to be sold, but not at Varteks’ wish, but inherited conditions of the pre-bankruptcy settlement and at the request of the banks.

Also, I did not conduct any ‘marketing and business acrobatics’, but with significant personal investments and effort, I revitalized Varteks’ business, but unfortunately, it only lacked a little more support from some key actors or a bit of luck – wrote Bakić.