Peruvian regulator Indecopi is evaluating a court injunction obtained by creditor Gremco Corp S.A.C. that provisionally lifts the suspension of bankruptcy proceedings for football club Universitario de Deportes.
The National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property, known as Indecopi, stated that the technical secretariats of its Bankruptcy Proceedings Commission and Specialized Chamber on Bankruptcy Proceedings received official notice of the judicial ruling. The injunction was issued by Peru's judiciary in favor of Gremco Corp S.A.C., ordering a provisional end to the freeze on the club's insolvency process.
Indecopi indicated that the judicial mandate is undergoing formal evaluation by its decision-making bodies within their regulatory competencies and with respect for the independence of their decisions. The agency added that because the matter is actively being processed within these instances, it cannot issue an official ruling or provide further details regarding the case.
Universitario de Deportes, based in Lima, is one of Peru's oldest and most prominent professional football clubs. Indecopi serves as the national regulatory body overseeing corporate insolvency, antitrust regulation, and intellectual property rights across the South American country.
Viability plan and debt restructuring
The court order places the long-running insolvency process of Universitario de Deportes back under regulatory scrutiny. The proceedings had been suspended since 2021 following the passage of Law 31279, which enacted a special legal regime governing debt restructuring for Peruvian sports clubs undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.
Following that statutory freeze, Universitario transitioned to a financial viability plan aimed at structuring the orderly settlement of its outstanding liabilities. In December 2024, Peru's national tax administration agency, Sunat, approved a formal viability scheme for the club. That agreement structured an estimated debt of approximately 415 million Peruvian soles over an extended payment horizon of up to 30 years. Universitario began executing the approved payment plan in March 2025.
The latest judicial decision in favor of Gremco provisionally lifts the 2021 suspension, potentially reopening procedural avenues for reactivating bankruptcy instances. However, Indecopi stressed in its official statement that the concrete regulatory impact of the court measure must still be fully assessed by its governing panels.
Creditor dispute and administrative impact
Gremco Corp S.A.C., a major construction and real estate firm in Peru, is one of the main creditors of Universitario de Deportes and holds more than 50 percent of the total recognized debt in the insolvency process. The company has maintained a multi-year dispute with tax authority Sunat regarding the administration of the restructuring process and governance decisions affecting the football club.
Reactivating the bankruptcy proceedings could carry broader implications for the governance of Universitario and the decision-making authority within a potential Creditors' Board. Nevertheless, Indecopi clarified that the preliminary court injunction does not mean Gremco Corp S.A.C. has assumed administrative or operational control of the club.
The judicial development places the corporate restructuring of Universitario de Deportes back at the center of debate over its commercial future. The legal review comes as the club continues executing its 30-year tax repayment plan while carrying out expanding commercial and sports operations in Lima.
