At 31 December 2021, the Group had a total of 44,715 thousand euros in economic or financial bank guarantees issued by various banks (34,052 thousand euros in 2020).

The increase in balance for bank bonds at 31 December 2021, compared to the balance at 31 December 2020, is mainly due to the issue of a bond as a rent guarantee for a new hotel in Denmark and those issued in favour of Social Security for the deferral of social security payments by several group companies applied for at the beginning of 2021.

Of the 44,715 thousand euros in bank guarantees, 38,300 thousand euros guarantee leasing contract obligations and others related to the Group’s usual operations in various countries, and 6,415 thousand euros issued in relation to public bodies.

At 31 December 2021, the Group had taken out insurance policies to cover risks arising from damage to material goods, loss of profits and third-party liability. The capital insured sufficiently covers the assets and risks mentioned above.

Commitments to third parties

  • ­On 10 March 2006, the partnership agreement of the company which owns a hotel in the United Kingdom was signed, of which a group company is a shareholder, under which, if the company were to receive a purchase offer for 100% of its shares at market price, the Group company could be required to transfer the shares. However, the group company will have preferential acquisition rights over the shares. At the close of the financial year, the group company had granted its shareholder an option to purchase shares representing up to 8.36 % of the company capital of the company owning the hotel.
  • ­­Within the framework of new development projects in the normal course of business, in which Grupo NH subsidiaries act as lessees or operators, the Group’s parent company gives personal guarantees in favour of third parties to secure its contractual obligations, often issue promissory notes in payment of said obligations and agrees penalty clauses in case of breach of contract.
  • ­­Likewise, within the framework of the group’s financing, personal and real guarantees have been granted to fulfil the obligations guaranteed under the financing agreements (Note 17).

Claims in process

The Group’s main contingent assets and liabilities on the date these consolidated financial statements were drawn up, are set out below:

  • The owner of four properties in the Netherlands has claimed in court the payment of compensation to a Dutch subsidiary because there was allegedly a change of the control situation in the year 2014, which supposedly entitles him to claim a fine, according to the lease. The claim filed by the owner, both in the first instance and on appeal, was dismissed in full. The same owner has instituted fresh court proceedings alleging a change of control situation in 2018, with an agreement being reached between the parties to put an end to the claim.
  • A claim has been filed against a Group company in Germany due to the termination of two lease agreements and claiming specific amounts, including damages.
  • A claim has been filed against a Group company in Italy due to the early termination of a lease agreement; the ruling was favourable to the company’s interests in the appeal, although it is in judicial review currently in progress.
  • A Group company in Italy has been sued for damages under a service provision contract, with the claim being dismissed in the first instance. It is currently at the appeal stage.
  • A Group company in South Africa has been sued for damages as a result of the termination of a lease agreement.
  • A claim has been filed against two of the Group’s companies seeking payment fees to rights management from 1 January 2008 to 31 May 2013, in addition to an unspecified amount corresponding to the period thereafter until a judgment is issued, plus interest and costs. The procedure from both first instance and appeal has been resolved by setting an amount lower than the one claimed, however, a judicial review has been filed, which is pending a hearing.
  • A claim has been filed against a Group company claiming payment in relation to the payment of a management entity’s fees for the years 2018, 2019, et seq, which is currently being processed.
  • A claim has been filed against a Group company for damages within the framework of a corporate relationship, which has been partially admitted. It is currently at the appeal stage.
  • Claims have been submitted in claim for payment, within the framework of the various rent renegotiation processes the Company is in. These are currently being processed.
  • On the occasion of the agreements reached in 2014 for the sale of the shares held by NH Hotel Group, S.A in the company Sotogrande, S.A., the Group agreed to subrogate to the position of Sotogrande, S.A. for certain claims assuming all rights and obligations relating thereto, and are summarised as follows:
    • Plaintiff in the proceedings against construction agents for construction defects in twenty-five homes and contractual liability.
    • Respondent in the process of claiming amounts from a real estate development due to construction defects.
  • A former shareholder of the Group has requested the annulment of certain resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors, and the proceedings are currently in progress.
  • As part of the contractual liability assumed by the Group in a hotel purchase contract in Holland, the buyers informed the Group of the requirement to pay the Dutch Capital Transfer Tax. At 31 December 2021, the total amount of this tax, plus the corresponding default interest, was 12,654 thousand euros. The purchasers submitted an appeal to the Dutch Treasury that was rejected and an appeal has been filed with the Courts that is still pending resolution. The Group and the purchasers reached an agreement whereby NH assumed control of the judicial procedure. In March 2021, a judgment issued by the Court of First Instance was received rejecting the Group’s claim, with which the Group does not agree, so a new appeal will be filed before the second judicial instance on 14 June 2021.

The Directors of the Parent Company consider that the hypothetical loss incurred by the Group as a result of such actions would not significantly affect the equity of the Group.