A provider that operates six skilled nursing and one assisted living facility in New York has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing a “crushing rent burden” for its facilities.
Absolut Facilities Management LLC submitted the voluntary bankruptcy petition on Tuesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Easter District of New York. The company claims it has more than 100 creditors and less than $10 million in assets, according to court documents.
The company also stated it’s paid about $11 million per year in rent for the facilities and the “crushing rent burden has made (its) business, in its current footprint, unsustainable.” The company is planning to close its 200-bed facility in Orchard Park, NY, after recently receiving regulatory approval, Buffalo Business First reported.
“Not only has the high rent burden put a stranglehold on (Absolut’s) cash flow, it is impeding (Absolut’s) ability to invest in the improvement of their facilities,” the company wrote.
Absolut plans to use the bankruptcy case to “evaluate their leases and other obligations and, to the extent possible, restructure them in a way that will afford (them) an opportunity to emerge from bankruptcy, with all of their senior care facilities intact, as a going concern.”
