AST Group’s Natilia, Natibox and Villas Club dealer network partners with Vestack to save jobs at POBI factory and dealer network

The AST group, one of the leaders in the construction of individual houses with a turnover of €250 million per year, has been heavily impacted by the slowdown in the real estate market, and placed in receivership on August 1, 2024.

Two takeover bids remain out of the three that were initially received by the Lyon Commercial Court on September 30. These mainly targeted the POBI factory, specialized in the production of timber frame walls and its two networks of timber frame house builders NATILIA and NATIBOX garden studios.

Nearly a thousand direct and indirect jobs are at stake, including around a hundred employees at the POBI factory in La Charité-sur-Loire (58), nearly 250 jobs at the NATILIA, NATIBOX and VILLAS CLUB distributor network and more than 1000 jobs at their local subcontractors.

The NATILIA, VILLAS CLUB and NATIBOX dealer network has decided to join forces with Vestack. This joint offer makes it possible to rely on the modular wood construction skills of the Vestack group to ensure the revival of the activity of the POBI factory and the dealer network, and thus save the jobs and brands developed for 14 years by AST group and its dealers.

The latest offer is being made by a consortium of direct competitors of the AST Group, which hold the largest market shares in the single-family home construction sector. This consortium is said to be seeking to seize the opportunity of the AST Group's divestment plan to strengthen its position in this sector.

The dealers have expressed their concerns about this offer throughout the legal proceedings. The discussions between this consortium and the dealers over the past 2 weeks have not reassured the NATILIA, NATIBOX and VILLAS CLUB agencies about the future of their independent businesses, because to date, many questions have remained unanswered.

Guarantees on the continuation of their activities under suitable conditions have not been provided at the moment. Their project would involve significant cost increases and risks for the dealer network that would compromise the sustainability of the activity of the POBI factory (the network being the main customer) as well as the subcontractors of the NATILIA and VILLAS CLUB agencies. The dealer network hopes that the court will be sensitive to this.

It should also be remembered that dealers have been developing and heavily involved for 14 years in the development of the POBI product and the brands that are dear to them, and that they will be even more mobilized alongside Vestack to continue to grow the various activities. And this, despite the difficulties that the profession is going through, accentuated by the difficulties of the AST Group. These have also generated a lower delivery of delivery guarantees, and yet, the solidity of the dealer network allows them to see a favorable outcome for their future.

The offer made by the dealers and Vestack is characterized by significant investments and a focus on innovation, making it possible to anticipate the standards for decarbonizing construction and to make the POBI plant more competitive. This offer embodies a collaborative, human-centered approach with the pooling of resources and the development of employee shareholding. The dealers and Vestack are committed to preserving local employment at the POBI plant as well as that of the dealer agencies spread throughout the territory.