On Friday, Indebted Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL) said it defaulted on interest on non-convertible bonds (NCDs) totalling Rs 8.98 crore. This is the second default by FEL this week. Earlier on Wednesday, FEL had said it owed NCD a total of Rs 9.16 crore in interest.

The payment due date for the most recent default is October 13, 2022, FEL said in a regulatory filing. “The company was unable to meet its obligations related to the interest on the non-convertible bond, which is due on October 13, 2022,” it said.

FEL is in arrears on interest payments for the period April 13, 2022, to October 12, 2022. The total principal amount of the securities issued is Rs 112 crore. The indebted Future Group has defaulted several times in the past six months. It also faces three petitions filed by its operating creditors with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against the company.

FEL’s lenders also appointed an auditor to conduct a forensic audit of the company. It is engaged in manufacturing, trading, asset leasing and logistics services. It used to develop, own and lease retail infrastructure for Future Group.
FEL also holds investments in the group’s subsidiaries and joint ventures in insurance, textile manufacturing, supply chain and logistics. It was part of 19 companies operating in the retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing sectors that were supposed to be transferred to Reliance Retail as part of the Rs 24,713 crore deal announced in August 2020. Reliance Industries scrapped the deal in April after failing to secure lender support.