The CEO of Selection Group, Réal Bouclin, testified for the first time in the context of the restructuring of the company. In a tense hearing, he asked the court for more time to liquidate part of his assets, under the more than skeptical gaze of the responsible controller.

As for the judge, he said he was “highly concerned” about the lack of cooperation between the parties. He called on them to “row in the same direction” to “correct course”.

The controller responsible, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), for its part, is demanding the rapid auctioning of the assets of the company, which in November placed itself under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Questioned by his lawyer, Réal Bouclin sharply criticized the action of the controller, who “does not believe” in the recovery of Selection, according to him.

“I felt like we would have been accompanied by PwC. It’s not,” he blurted out.

“There is never anyone who sits down to work and try to build and then improve something. It’s just ‘Where have you been? Did you do this? Did you pay for this?” It’s just the reporting that’s done. »

His lawyer asked him if PwC consulted him on the strategic orientations in the file. “No,” replied Réal Bouclin. Do I have the information when it’s done, or when it’s happening? Yes. »

The parties agree that assets must be auctioned to finance the company’s turnaround. Sélection would thus dispose of buildings and seek to sell interests in certain other assets, as part of a sale and investment solicitation process.

PwC intends to put all of the buildings and land up for sale, with transactions closing as early as July 30. “This company consumes cash in a significant way,” says PwC controller Christian Bourque, who estimates it at between 8 and 9 million per month.

“We understand that you have to monetize assets, agreed Réal Bouclin during the hearing. But you don’t have to liquidate, you have to arrive with an orderly process. »

For him, putting all of Selection’s properties on the market at once is “unthinkable”. “Even with help, teams won’t be able to answer all the questions. »

The boss tried to defend his vision of a Selection Group “2.0”, lightened after the resale of part of its assets.

Réal Bouclin says he signed a first letter of intent with a potential partner last weekend, without giving details. However, he did not inform the controller of his steps.

More concretely, the company wants to find a new financial partner that would allow it to continue its Mirabel Liva construction project.

Sélection would also like to maintain its general construction activities.

In addition, the Group says it has taken steps to improve its management, after the severe criticism that PwC made in the fall on the performance of its finances.

Asked to explain what had led Selection to place itself under the protection of the CCAA, Réal Bouclin explained that “the crisis started from the pandemic”. “It’s my mistake,” he says, after explaining how he kept building projects going without adjusting to construction inflation and rising interest rates.

In a tense interrogation with the PwC lawyer, the boss finally had to admit that his partners had let go of him one by one.

Hounded by the comptroller’s lawyer, Alain Riendeau of Fasken, Réal Bouclin admitted that he had no real business plan for his “2.0” Selection Group. “Do I have all the elements to make one?” Yes. »

“I’ll take it from your answer that you don’t have a business plan,” the PwC attorney concluded.

Judge Michel Pinsonnault did not like what he heard on Tuesday. “It’s not necessarily moving in the direction we were hoping for,” he said.

He recalled that the ultimate goal, “is that the company can emerge from the recovery process and continue its operations on a healthier basis”. He therefore invited PwC and Selection to share the information, “without thinking that it will work against the other”.

“You have to literally turn the corner. It seems to me that there is something not working well. »

The judge has still not ruled on the auction process for the assets of Selection. Hearings are due to resume on Wednesday.