Herdecke e.V., the non-profit association for senior citizens’ facilities (GVS e.V.) operates in two business areas: nursing homes and day care centres, both in Herdecke near Dortmund. The company owns two nursing homes (one of them: Altenzentrum Kirchende) and rents two further nursing homes. Three of the total of four nursing homes are sublet to the subsidiary GVS Herdecke Seniorendienste gGmbH (GVS gGmbH), which operates all the facilities as the operator. The fourth facility was previously used as a nursing home, but has remained largely unused since the end of 2016. In addition, GVS e.V. owns and operates six day care centres for children in Herdecke. GVS e.V. continues to provide administrative services for its subsidiary. GVS e.V. employs a total of around 100 staff.

As part of the insolvency plan of GVS e.V., the property owned by Altenzentrum Kirchende was sold to the Convivo Group by way of a transferable restructuring, which will also continue to operate the subsidiary GVS gGmbH.

The Convivo Group is a Germany-wide provider of care facilities with a good reputation and proven restructuring expertise. The company was founded in 1993 by its CEO Torsten Gehle, who is himself a trained geriatric nurse. Convivo operates approx. 35 care facilities with 2500 residents, 350 apartments for the elderly and 500 outpatients.

GVS gGmbH has suffered significant losses since 2014 due to inefficient personnel planning and high cost structures. In particular, the special annual payment for 2016, the unfavourable negotiation of remuneration rates and the move to a new care facility, which was fraught with complications, ultimately led to the filing of an insolvency petition in November 2016.