A single investor’s compensation claim now accounts for almost a quarter of all liabilities in Denmark’s Velkommen energy collapse, while tens of thousands of prepaid customers are unlikely to recover most of their money.
When a Danish court hearing on 28 July was supposed to clarify the future of collapsed electricity suppliers Velkommen, Nettopower and B.Energy, a new nine-figure claim surfaced instead. According to TV 2, Kjøller A/S, the investment vehicle of former Velkommen owner Magnus Kjøller, filed a DKK 99 million compensation claim tied to a recent share sale agreement with a deferred settlement. That single claim now represents 23 percent of Velkommen’s total reported liabilities of DKK 423 million, as reported by TV 2.
The figure is striking because it dwarfs the exposure of ordinary households. According to earlier TV 2 reporting, claims filed in July 2024 totalled about DKK 75 million across all three companies, of which DKK 72.2 million were against Velkommen alone. By late July 2026, total reported claims against Velkommen alone had grown to DKK 423 million, based on TV 2 journalistic summaries rather than a complete official creditor list. That represents a more than five-fold increase, driven largely by insider-related demands that ordinary customers never saw coming.
Private investors now dominate the Velkommen creditor vote
Kjøller A/S was previously known to hold a modest DKK 4 million loan claim. The sudden jump to DKK 99 million stems from a contractual compensation mechanism. Because Velkommen is now worth far less than projected under the original sale agreement, Magnus Kjøller filed an erstatningskrav to recover lost value.
He is not alone. A creditor called Crane, Poole & Schmidt, named after a fictional law firm from the TV series Boston Legal, holds a DKK 74 million claim. According to TV 2 and the Danish company register, the entity is owned by Morten Schwartz Nielsen. Together, these two private investors have filed DKK 173 million in claims, equal to 41 percent of Velkommen’s total liabilities, as TV 2 reports.
Their combined claims are larger in nominal terms than Gældsstyrelsen’s tax claim of over DKK 52.5 million, which typically translates into significant influence in creditor voting. Their nominal claim size also far exceeds that of most individual household customers. Many of those customers have only a few hundred to tens of thousands of kroner at stake, prepaid balances that effectively financed the company’s operations before it failed.
Customers left behind in the Velkommen sale
In mid-July, the appointed reconstruction lawyer, Flemming Jensen, sold Velkommen’s customer portfolio of roughly 50,000 accounts to Energidrift A/S. The deal included an explicit clause stating that Energidrift does not assume any of Velkommen’s debts or liabilities. Customers move to a new supplier, but their unpaid claims remain trapped in the insolvent estate.
Under Danish insolvency law, prepaid electricity and gas balances rank as unsecured simple claims. They are paid only after secured creditors and preferential claims such as tax and employee salaries. According to DR, Radius, the local grid operator, has DKK 13 million at risk and has publicly protested the sale, citing lack of consultation and concern that unpaid network and grid-related charges may not be recovered.
State broadcaster DR reported that multiple electricity companies were never contacted before Jensen accepted Energidrift’s offer. Jensen responded in writing that he answered all inquiries and that two additional actors, after being invited to bid, never submitted formal offers. Industry critics question whether the market was genuinely tested.
Foreign-born residents make up a significant share of customers
No official register breaks down Velkommen’s customer base by nationality. Yet Eurostat data show that 32.7 percent of residents in Denmark’s capital region are foreign-born. This suggests that expats are likely among the transferred customers and among those with claims that may be difficult to recover.
For expats who overpaid monthly acontobetalinger or who struggle to interpret Danish final invoices, the process can be particularly challenging. They face the same subordinated claim status as Danish households, but with less legal knowledge and fewer resources to navigate the reconstruction process.
What you can do
Affected customers must file formal written claims to preserve any rights. For Velkommen, all claims go to Advokat Flemming Jensen, Dalgasgade 29A, 3. sal, 7400 Herning, via email at info@fjlaw.dk. For Nettopower, now declared bankrupt, claims must be sent to the three court-appointed curators. Include name, contact details, customer number, amount owed and supporting documents such as final bills and bank statements.
Ankenævnet på Energiområdet advises that customers who do not know exact amounts can lodge preliminary claims and update later. That is crucial for internationals who may have lost access to online portals. If payments were made by card and no service was delivered, Forbrug.dk recommends requesting a chargeback through your bank.
Experts quoted by DR say they do not expect there will be much money left for customers. But filing a claim is the only way to secure partial dividends if assets are eventually recovered. For expats, that means acting now, in writing, even if the outcome is uncertain.
Additional creditor claims are common as reconstructions of this kind develop. Given that votes are weighted by claim size, ordinary customers’ influence will be limited compared to the largest creditors when the final vote is taken.
