Controlling Shareholder's Debt Default, Bestore Loses Over 100 Million in a Year, Where Will the Premium Snack Leader Go?

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Source: Securities Star

Once a high-end snack brand, Liangpin Shop (603719.SH) is now caught in a storm. The company recently disclosed a reply to the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s regulatory work letter, revealing the debt repayment risks faced by its controlling shareholder, Ningbo Hanyi Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereafter “Ningbo Hanyi”). As of the disclosure date on March 17, Ningbo Hanyi had three overdue debts totaling 365 million yuan, with risks of forced execution on its holdings of Liangpin Shop shares. Earlier, disputes over share transfer with Guangzhou Light Industry and Trade Group Co., Ltd. (hereafter “Guangzhou Light Industry”) had not yet been resolved.

Meanwhile, Liangpin Shop’s January earnings forecast showed an expected net loss attributable to shareholders of 120 million to 160 million yuan in 2025, marking its worst performance since listing. Although the company repeatedly emphasized that it is independent from Ningbo Hanyi and that its operations are unaffected, the secondary market’s reaction indicates investors find it difficult to fully separate the controlling shareholder’s crisis from the company’s future. Since the beginning of the year through March 18, the stock price has fallen over 9%.

1. Controlling Shareholder Falls into Massive Debt Default Quagmire

Since late 2024, Liangpin Shop’s controlling shareholder has become a market focus, even overshadowing the company itself. In July 2025, the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court accepted a dispute over share transfer between Guangzhou Light Industry and Ningbo Hanyi. As the plaintiff, Guangzhou Light Industry demanded Ningbo Hanyi fulfill the agreement by transferring 79,763,962 Liangpin Shop shares at 12.42 yuan per share and pay a penalty of 5 million yuan.

The initial amount involved was 996 million yuan. Later, Guangzhou Light Industry amended its claim, requesting Ningbo Hanyi to continue performing the agreement and to immediately handle the share transfer procedures. By the end of July 2025, the total claim amount reached 1.023 billion yuan.

Securities Star learned that this dispute stemmed from Ningbo Hanyi’s failure to sign a formal agreement to transfer the promised shares to Guangzhou Light Industry, prompting litigation.

In December 2025, Guangzhou Light Industry changed its claim, abandoning the request for Ningbo Hanyi to continue the transfer but still demanding 20.73 million yuan in damages, penalties, and legal costs.

Although the risk of forced transfer of shares has temporarily eased, the massive debt default crisis of the controlling shareholder remains urgent. According to Ningbo Hanyi’s recent reply to the SSE regulatory letter, its debt issues are complex.

The announcement states that the debt crisis began in early 2024. At that time, Ningbo Hanyi borrowed 300 million yuan from Yunnan Trust, pledging 53.4 million Liangpin Shop shares as collateral. The loan matured in January 2025, but Ningbo Hanyi only repaid 20 million yuan, leaving 280 million yuan unpaid. This overdue debt led Yunnan Trust to initiate enforcement.

Subsequently, the debt was transferred multiple times, ultimately taken over by Guoxin Trust. Although a settlement and one-year extension were reached, Guoxin Trust has the right to declare the debt due early and apply to the court for enforcement. In October 2025, Guoxin Trust announced the debt was due early and applied to resume enforcement. As of the announcement, the enforcement target for this debt alone was about 280 million yuan.

2. Delivering the Worst Performance Since Listing

Apart from the core 280 million yuan debt, Ningbo Hanyi and its concerted parties face additional overdue debts. The announcement shows Ningbo Hanyi owes Guoxin Trust 50 million yuan and CITIC Bank 35 million yuan, totaling 35 million yuan in overdue principal.

Ningbo Hanyi and its concerted party, Ningbo Liangpin, have pledged or frozen a total of 77,990,584 shares, representing 50.89% of their holdings and 19.45% of the company’s total share capital. Based on the recent closing price of 12.00 yuan on February 6, 2026, the pledged shares’ market value exceeds the corresponding enforcement amount by about 360 million yuan. This indicates sufficient collateral coverage for the debts in the short term, with no immediate risk exposure.

However, the stock’s future price movement remains a key variable. If the share price falls below 5.25 yuan, the controlling shareholder will face the risk of forced liquidation of pledged shares.

From a fundamental perspective, Liangpin Shop’s current performance also struggles to support a sustained stock price increase. The January 2025 forecast predicts a net loss of 120 million to 160 million yuan attributable to shareholders, and a net loss after non-recurring items of 150 million to 190 million yuan—its largest loss since listing. In contrast, in 2023, the company was profitable with 180 million yuan.

The company attributes its performance pressure to both internal and external factors. Internally, it has been optimizing store structure, closing underperforming outlets, which reduced total store count and dragged down overall sales. Externally, to stay competitive, it has lowered prices on some products, and changes in product mix have eroded gross profit margins.

Securities Star notes that despite efforts to cut costs through lean management and digital tools, the decline in revenue and gross profit could not be fully offset. Additionally, during the reporting period, interest income, financial gains, and government subsidies dropped significantly, totaling about 41 million yuan year-over-year, further weakening the already fragile performance.

As of the close on March 20, Liangpin Shop’s stock price was 10.08 yuan per share, below the 12.00 yuan baseline used for valuation and approaching the 5.25 yuan risk threshold. The controlling shareholder’s debt crisis continues to ferment, and the company’s performance turnaround has yet to arrive. Liangpin Shop’s predicament is far from over.