Updated at 4.10pm with Bolt comment. 

Food delivery and ride-hailing service Bolt's local operators have hit back at a media report that suggested the operation is insolvent.  

In a judicial letter filed in court on Monday, BLT Food Malta Ltd, BLT Operations Ltd and BLT Malta Ltd took umbrage with a media report which included claims that the company is legally insolvent. 

On Sunday, MaltaToday reported how Debono Group, one of the principal investors in the local operations of Bolt, had gone to court to try and recover money it had lent to get the operation started in Malta.

Debono Group says it invested just over €2million in the operation some two years ago. 

The group, known as the local importer of Toyota, then converted this investment into a loan, and asked the other players in Bolt to pay it back plus interest. 

More than a year has passed since this loan was to be repaid but the money never came through, Debono Group says.

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

In filings made before the commercial court earlier this month, Debono Group, a 20% shareholder in TXF Tech which runs Bolt’s operations in Malta, sued the same company and its affiliate TXF Tunisia, over what it says is a failure to repay the debt owed. 

The Debono Group accused TXF Tech of being “legally insolvent” despite healthy operations. 

It is understood that Debono Group has so far recovered around €180,000 of their investment. 

The sight of motorcyclists zipping through traffic to deliver meals has become increasingly common as food delivery and other courier services have exploded in Malta in recent years. 

However, despite a strong presence on Maltese's roads, the Debono Group has asked the courts to dissolve the companies that operate Bolt in order to recoup its investment.

This could see Bolt taken off the road if the case goes the full stretch in court.  

Sources close to the case, however, have said that a far more likely outcome will see the parties reach an out-of-court settlement.  

Dissolving the companies that operate Bolt in Malta, the sources said, would not see Debono Group repaid and resolving this matter was in everyone’s best interest. 

Meanwhile, BLT Food Malta Ltd, BLT Operations Ltd and BLT Malta Ltd filed their judicial letter early Monday morning, claiming that the MaltaToday article was “clearly and manifestly the result of [Debono Group’s] actions” or that of their officials.

The judicial letter, filed by lawyers Franco Galea and Lucio Sciriha, is the first step in a claim for damages. 

Replying to questions sent, a Bolt spokesperson told Times of Malta that its services are available for customers in Malta without any hindrance, adding that "nothing has changed for passengers or drivers". 

The spokesperson said TXF Tech Limited and TXF Tunisia are not a part of Bolt group companies and these were simply partners running operations in Malta and Tunisia. 

Bolt's bumpy ride

The food delivery and mobility giant is no stranger to controversy.  

Last year, Times of Malta reported how the job contracts of non-EU workers employed as food couriers or taxi drivers with Bolt were reviewed by the state employment agency over concerns they may not be in line with the law.

Then the government concluded that more than 1,200 non-EU nationals working on the popular ride hailing and food delivery service were in "illegal work contracts" that must be revised. 

At the time, the main issue was that third country nationals cannot be self-employed.

Around half of the food couriers and cab drivers working on such platforms in Malta are on these kind of contracts. Third-country nationals are the backbone of their workforce.

Bolt eventually found a legal work-around utilising recruitment agencies that offer employment contracts and then outsource drivers.