After the revelations of LOOK to the royal bankruptcy, the director speaks

Oliver Skreinig (39) loves big concerts, he feels comfortable in the spotlight. At the appearance yesterday in front of the media – summoned in a hurry after the LOOK had made public the bankruptcy of the Circus Royal – he would have willingly given up. Drowned, with sad eyes, he seated himself on a Beizli circus chair, led by wheel legend Beat Breu (60 years old). Surrounded by the media, he feels visibly uncomfortable.

The master of ceremonies gives the floor to journalists instead of providing an explanation of the problems surrounding the second largest circus in Switzerland. He was sweating a lot. Suddenly, he let the cat out of the bag. "Peter Gasser and I split up in the winter," he said, lowering his eyes briefly to the ground. Gasser (61) has been running Lipperswil TG's family business since 1999 – and apparently miscalculated not only privately but also commercially.

"It was a shock!"

Gasser or a creditor triggered bankruptcy The bankruptcy office in Thurgau did not tell him personally, says Skreinig. He learned of Tuesday's bankruptcy of LOOK. He actually found bankruptcy by opening on the Internet. "It was a shock!", Says Skreinig. "But I do not feel deceived by Peter Gasser."

Reason for clemency: his ex-partner is really in a "very bad state of health". Skreinig: "It's perfectly normal that you can crush some things there." We could only talk about insignificant things with Gasser, not business. He does not know how much money he is missing, he said. This is hard to believe because it owns 50% of Circus Royal Betriebs AG. "The circus trade is a constant movement," he says about bankruptcy

Employees receive their salary

Why Gasser has not received the help of his ex-partner? "It was not a fight, but it was a difficult time," he says. It is perfectly normal that you do not walk hand in hand during this difficult time. It is important to him that the Royal name does not go out. The current tour will be completed according to Skreinig. "The 80 employees get their wages on time, the animals have enough to eat," he said. Tickets already purchased remain valid.

From March 1, 2019, Skreinig will go on tour without Peter Gasser. For this, he founded the new company Circus Royal GmbH. The fact that only two weeks before the opening of bankruptcy, raises sensitive issues. Is he trying to liquidate the creditors' money from the company?

"A company has been planned for some time"

Skreinig adds: "It's been planned for some time to run my own business," says the manager. It has to do with private separation. "We could not agree on a common direction of the circus."

In recent years, the circus has been on the front page of the newspaper many times, as animal rights activists have criticized the lion and the tiger. This year, camels, horses and an alpaca will roam the merry-go-round instead.

"Next year we will have a predator number again," he says. He hopes the public will be back in droves. Yesterday afternoon, the representation of Affoltern in Albis ZH was held half empty

Published 12.07.2018 | Last update 1 minute ago