Robin aircraft in receivership

Summary of an article in the January Info-Pilote. Probably written in early December so not up to date, but it does have some interesting background:

After a presidential visit and €1.7 modernisation subsidy, Robin was hit by Covid twice, slow orders, another spar fiasco, and artisanal production techniques.

They were unable to pay their salaries so were put under the protection of a commercial tribunal in February 2023, with a 10-month deadline. In October they had received 36 offers, of which 3 were serious, but none of these were acceptable so the company was put into liquidation. Interestingly, the offers were conditional upon a separation of Robin Aircraft and CEAPR, which was vetoed by CEAPR.

Robin Aircraft manufactured new DR400s and CAP10s, as well as refurbishing old airframes. This was under contract from CEAPR, a different company who own the intellectual property, and who manufacture and market spare parts. Both companies have the same shareholder and manager (father and son).
No aeroclubs have been let down, although the status of some Marine (navy) CAP10s in refitting is unclear.

The commercial tribunal rejected a takeover proposition by Guy Pellissier (father), probably as it was the same person and same court as Apex Aircraft in 2008.

There’s also an interview of Casimir Pellissier (son):

• Parts are unaffected: these are fulfilled by CEAPR, a different company. They are transferring 14 of the 28 employees, all specialists. The aircraft will not be orphaned.
• Clubs will be unaffected. They completed all open orders, but 2 unreserved aircraft are in the hands of the liquidators.
• There is no change to the spar situation, but they are ‘looking into it’.
• Restarting production is ‘on standby’. They are restoring old airframes, buying 15-20,000 hour 1970s models to return to new. They intend to produce a kit to bring older versions up to the 1992 model spec.
• On development, the Rotax version is ‘very close’ and they are investigating a Continental diesel. Other product improvements are work on the nosewheel and canopy, and to reconfigure the aft of the cabin for more space.