CREWE-based bus firm Best Bus and Coach has gone into liquidation just four months after celebrating taking over routes axed by Arriva.

The company, owned by Conservative Cllr John Jones, went into receivership on Thursday, leaving county council bosses a matter of hours to provide replacement services for the 44 and 45 Crewe to Nantwich routes.

The Kate’s Lane-based company also operated “Home to School” contracts on behalf of the county council, which also had to be covered at short notice.

Cllr Jones said the company had been doing well, that he had done everything he could to prop up the company, and blamed its demise on the American sub-prime mortgage crisis.

“It was an American company which cut off the finance. I tried to put a rescue package together but given the current circumstances no-one wanted to know,” Cllr Jones said.


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Investment banking envoys are warning that the government must tread carefully if plans to set up an insolvency framework which would see crippled banks' retail deposits transferred to another bank are pushed through.

The plans are part of the Special Resolution Regime, which has been floated to stakeholders by the Treasury in conjuction with the Bank of England and the FSA, but the designs have been given a frosty reception, the FT reported.

The London Investment Banking Association said that the knock-on effects would have to be given serious consideration before any legislation was set in stone.

'This will be a major change to insolvency lawand practice in the UK It is vital that unintended consequences are avoided said Liba chairman Alan Yarrow.'

The British Bankers Association and the Association of British Insurers have also been high profile detractors of the plans.

'We have drawn attention to the care that will be needed if a special resolution regime is to be introduced for deposit-takers, to ensure that the implications for counterparties and for the markets more generally are properly taken into account, added Yarrow.


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The Round Theatre, Newcastle’s newest drama venue, has announced it has filed for voluntary liquidation just eight months after first opening its doors.

The theatre opened in October last year with just £20,000 to fund its ambitious programme of daytime and evening shows, despite having raised £1 million in under a year to convert a derelict warehouse into the north-east’s only theatre in the round.

Nine jobs, including three full-time posts and two newly-formed youth theatre companies headquartered in the theatre have been lost as a result of the decision by directors Jeannie Adams and Julie Blackie to cease trading and begin liquidation proceedings.

No one at the theatre was available to offer any comment to The Stage but a notice on the company’s website was at pains to stress that the insolvency did not affect the city’s long-established Bruvvers Theatre, from whom the warehouse space was leased.

The Round Theatre was built with capital funding from a consortium of parties in the Ouseburn district of Newcastle, an area the city is developing as a cultural quarter, but had failed to secure funding for programming or administrative costs.

The discovery of the £65,000 debt that led to the liquidation was just the latest body blow the company had received. During construction of the theatre, the original contracted builder went bankrupt and its first season was hampered by a lower than expected volume of school party visits. During the company’s third season, Adams told The Journal newspaper, “it started going horribly wrong” as average houses of just 52% fell far short of the 70% capacity the company had budgeted to break even.

While the lease of the venue now reverts to the Bruvvers Theatre company, Adams added that the Round could still be saved if creditors were paid and suitable subsidy guarantees for its future operations received before June 11.



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The amount of cash set to be raised through rights issues in Europe over the next few months marks a new trend.

When Balfour Beatty won the contract to build the Aquatic Centre for the London Olympics last month, the celebrations were tinged with a little foreboding at the engineering and construction giant.

Zaha Hadid's ambitious design for the centre has been controversial since the outset, not least because its expected cost has trebled to £210m, and it was already beset with months of delays. It was clear Ian Tyler, Balfour Beatty's chief executive, was taking on years of heartache and wrangling, as well as a big contract.

But for shareholders, the contract win came as something of a tonic. The Government had stressed that, of all the things that could go wrong, the contractors were not to go bust before the centre was built. The win was yet more proof that Balfour Beatty, which at the end of 2007 showed nearly £380m of cash on its balance with no debt, was in rude financial health.

But less than a month later, on May 15, Balfour Beatty announced a shock capital raising: the company had placed 43.3m shares with institutions, raising £186m. It was the first time the company had tapped the market since its flotation nearly 10 years ago.

Shareholders were horrified. One said "The placing gave us a hell of a shock. The last numbers we had showed Balfour as having loads of cash. The first thought was, were the figures wrong, had something awful happened?"

Tyler was prepared. He told The Sunday Telegraph: "We had been really worried about the placing because raising money always comes as a bit of a shock to investors.

"Immediately it looks defensive or like trouble - you just have to hope investors aren't too surprised and listen to why you're doing it."

Tyler carefully explained that Balfour Beatty had grown fourfold in recent years, both organically and by a series of acquisitions, and needed more cash to keep growing. In addition, pressures have increased on construction firms to have a higher proportion of cash to prove their financial stability.

Tyler said: "About a year ago we knew that if we wanted to keep growing we'd have to raise more money."

As the credit crunch continued to bite, Tyler knew that it was never going to be good timing. He waited until the GMH deal was complete and, two weeks ago, went for it.

"We were particularly concerned because no one had done a placing for ages." he said. "But we were amazed that literally overnight, instead of being the only ones, we were suddenly one of many. "

After months of turmoil in the financial sector, investors had braced themselves for bolstering balance sheets at the banks. Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley had announced plans to raise nearly £16bn.

The £50bn capital injection for business as cheap debt dries up
Last Updated: 12:30am BST 26/05/2008Page 1 of 3



The amount of cash set to be raised through rights issues in Europe over the next few months marks a new trend. Louise Armitstead reports

When Balfour Beatty won the contract to build the Aquatic Centre for the London Olympics last month, the celebrations were tinged with a little foreboding at the engineering and construction giant.


Zaha Hadid's ambitious design for the centre has been controversial since the outset, not least because its expected cost has trebled to £210m, and it was already beset with months of delays. It was clear Ian Tyler, Balfour Beatty's chief executive, was taking on years of heartache and wrangling, as well as a big contract.

But for shareholders, the contract win came as something of a tonic. The Government had stressed that, of all the things that could go wrong, the contractors were not to go bust before the centre was built. The win was yet more proof that Balfour Beatty, which at the end of 2007 showed nearly £380m of cash on its balance with no debt, was in rude financial health.

But less than a month later, on May 15, Balfour Beatty announced a shock capital raising: the company had placed 43.3m shares with institutions, raising £186m. It was the first time the company had tapped the market since its flotation nearly 10 years ago.

Shareholders were horrified. One said "The placing gave us a hell of a shock. The last numbers we had showed Balfour as having loads of cash. The first thought was, were the figures wrong, had something awful happened?"

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Tyler was prepared. He told The Sunday Telegraph: "We had been really worried about the placing because raising money always comes as a bit of a shock to investors.

"Immediately it looks defensive or like trouble - you just have to hope investors aren't too surprised and listen to why you're doing it."

Tyler carefully explained that Balfour Beatty had grown fourfold in recent years, both organically and by a series of acquisitions, and needed more cash to keep growing. In addition, pressures have increased on construction firms to have a higher proportion of cash to prove their financial stability.

Tyler said: "About a year ago we knew that if we wanted to keep growing we'd have to raise more money."

As the credit crunch continued to bite, Tyler knew that it was never going to be good timing. He waited until the GMH deal was complete and, two weeks ago, went for it.

"We were particularly concerned because no one had done a placing for ages." he said. "But we were amazed that literally overnight, instead of being the only ones, we were suddenly one of many. "

After months of turmoil in the financial sector, investors had braced themselves for bolstering balance sheets at the banks. Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley had announced plans to raise nearly £16bn.

Your Money Their Hands
HBOS and RBS investors uneasy
But now companies as diverse as Johnston Press, the regional newspaper group, G4S, the security group, and FirstGroup, the rail and bus company, announced they were raising capital too. Now the City is bracing itself for fundraising by companies ranging from Barclays to Yell and Wolseley - although all three deny they have any need for the cash.

Last week the gloom that has recently enveloped investment banks was partially lifted with a sudden rush of activity in their equity capital markets division. One banker said: "Business has been slow for ages. But suddenly every chief executive wants to discuss capital raisings. We're booked up to the nines."

Based only on announcements by companies so far, $100bn of cash will be raised through rights issues over the next few months in Europe. Just under half - $45bn - will be raised in the UK. Analysts at Morgan Stanley predict that by the end of the year, these figures will have doubled.



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The New York developer Harry Macklowe finally agreed to sell the General Motors Building and other three skyscrapers in Manhattan to Boston Properties Inc., The New York Times reported on Saturday.

According to the newspaper, the deal was long awaited, as talks began around a year ago. Boston Properties chief Mortimer B. Zuckerman and a number of other buyers will purchase the buildings from the Macklowe family, which was trying to find a way to pay off its debts that reach 7 billion dollars, for the total price of 3.95 billion dollars.

According to a statement released by the company, Boston Properties, which owns and operates office buildings, intends to pay 1.47 billion in cash, assume around 2.47 billion dollars of fixed-rate debt and issue 10 million dollars in units of limited partnership interest.

"We're thrilled. It is a real commitment to Manhattan and New York City and a real commitment to the future," Zuckerman said.

The GM Building is believed to be one of the most successful real estate redevelopments and it could also be the most coveted office building in Manhattan. The Macklowe family purchased the building, which was previously half-owned by Donald Trump, in 2003 for 1.4 billion dollars, an amount that was then a record. Macklowe Properties managed to turn the building into a hot property through good tenants and commanding some of the highest rents in the United States, exceeding 150 dollars per square foot.

Among the other buyers, there is Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and the nations Kuwait and Qatar, the Times said, adding that the 50 story General Motors Building will be sold for 2.9 billion dollars, making the transaction the most expensive sale of an office building in the entire world.


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THOUSANDS of students in Scotland are being asked to repay more than £2,000 each as a result of a Scottish Government measure aimed at cutting debt.

About 3,000 postgraduates are being told they must immediately pay £2,200 for the one-off graduate endowment charge.

The move is a consequence of the Scottish Government's decision to end the endowment.

Students were previously told to pay off the endowment when they completed their studies.

However, because the tax is being scrapped , all outstanding debts are now being collected by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

Student leaders have warned the measure could lead to an increase in debt, and have called on Fiona Hyslop, the education secretary, to intervene.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Some students who completed undergraduate courses in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and have continued studies to postgraduate level were allowed to defer the payment of the graduate endowment until they completed the course. This did not affect the date of liability.

"Now that the graduate endowment fee had been abolished and the scheme is being wound up, SAAS are no longer in a position to allow these students to defer."


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London shares were beset by a bout of profit taking with miners taking the biggest hit in the blue chip sector ahead of the long weekend.

But it was FTSE 250 online and mail order retailer Findel that appeared to be the target of a bear raid. It plunged as much as 11 per cent to 220.25p on worries that more customers would default on payments and rack up its debt into dangerous levels. At the year end it said its operating profit covered interest payments on its debt 3.7 times, "comfortably within our banking covenants". It had net debt of £10 million at the end of March and had burned through £4.4 million of cash in the year.

One trader said: "They are being smashed because no one trusts them after they said everything was going fine and then two weeks later came out with a big write off."

The company which owns Kitbag.com, I Want One of Those.com and The Cotswold Company, warned in April that many of its new online customers had defaulted on their monthly payments.

Eurasian Natural Resources, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Kazakhmys, Anotfagasta, BHP Billiton and Vedanta Resources all lost 3 per cent and were the seven top fallers in the FTSE 100.

As a result the FTSE 100 was down 21 at 6160.8 by 10.44am.

British Airways was down 1.7 per cent to 208.5p after Air France – KLM put out worse than expected figures.

Morgan Stanley shook up the transport sector by cutting its target on Go-Ahead to underweight and keeping an overweight rating on FirstGroup but slashing its price target. Go-Ahead lost 1.5 per cent to £15.47 while FirstGroup fell 1.6 per cent. The broker warned that demand for train travel would be hit by the credit crunch. It also cut National Express, which was down 0.5 per cent at 875p

Lloyds TSB was one of the top performers, up 3.3 per cent to 403.75p after Exane BNP Paribas upped its stance to

’neutral’ from ’underperform’ with a price target of 495p, saying it was one of the few UK banks that would not need to do a rights issue.

J Sainsbury rose 2 per cent to 351p as ABN Amro upgraded to buy and set a new target price of 440p.

Styles & Wood collapsed 60 per cent to 41p after the shopfitter warned that trading had deteriorated in recent weeks and its chief executive and chairman therefore withdrew their bid, confirming a story in The Times this morning.



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King's Lynn look set to lose out on a money-spinning Blue Square North league game against old rivals Nuneaton next season with debt-ridden Borough set to go into administration.

Borough officials expect the club to be automatically relegated under Conference rules pending a final board meeting later this week with the Liberty Way outfit reportedly £750,000 in debt.

Lynn's Southern League Midland Division title shoot out in 1996 attracted 3,635 to The Walks for the club's biggest league crowd in the modern era.

Borough won 1-0 on the day before going on to lift the title. The Midlands' club enjoyed an unbroken four year stint in the Conference top tier until relegation in 2003.

Nuneaton director Ian Neale confirmed talks were at an advanced stage with the FA with administration the likely option to safeguard the club's long term survival.

“As soon as we go into administration the Conference will automatically relegate us but we shall take our punishment and look to take the club forward from there,” he said. “Once we are relegated and out of the Conference's jurisdiction we come under the Football Association and they will decide at what level we shall start the 2008/09 season.

“But the FA Compliance Department has been extremely helpful in guiding us along the right lines and will steer us towards what they think is the best direction for the club. One of the biggest problems is Conference rules. They offer no incentive for clubs who are struggling with insolvency to try to sort out their problems without being kicked out of the league.”

Lynn's Blue Square North neighbours Boston United remain confident they will avoid a similar fate after striking a deal to take the Pilgrims out of administration.

Boston club officials have reached agreement with Revenue and Customs to end their Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) following approval at a creditors' meeting in Leeds.

“I didn't think we'd achieve this but its good news,” said chairman David Newton. “We move on to the next thing now. This is a significant day - its one more step along the road to rebuilding the club.”

Newton also confirmed he had bought previous owners Lavaflow and is now the majority shareholder in the club.

The acquisition of Lavaflow means that Newton's company, Chestnut Homes, owns more than three quarters of the shares in Boston United. But the club still face possible expulsion from Blue Square North for breaching league regulations.

“They have some strange rules on insolvency and it depends upon how they impose them,” said Newton. “We think it's unfair that we could have further sanctions against us when we've improved the situation drastically.”



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The decision to nationalise Northern Rock has pushed UK debt levels above the government's official ceiling of 40%, preliminary figures suggest.

Bailing out the lender pushed public net debt to 43.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in March, suggests the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The government says its accounts should not include the cost of nationalising the lender, as the move is temporary.

Excluding the cost of Northern Rock, the net debt was 36.7% in March.

The Treasury's sustainable investment rule caps debt at 40% of GDP.

The ONS could not give a firm date for when the full details of Northern Rock's impact on public sector finances will be available. It said it has to accumulate final figures from the lender.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has previously said any impact on the public finances by nationalising Northern Rock would be "temporary and exceptional".

The public sector saw a net cash payment of £990m in April, the ONS said, less than the £2.3bn expected by analysts.

"This year is likely to be a tough one for public finances," said David Page, an economist at Investec.



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A rising number of Kent people are declaring themselves bankrupt, new figures have shown.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show 429 people in the county petitioned for their own bankruptcy in county courts in the first quarter of 2008, a rise of 16 per cent on the previous quarter.

This compared to a national rise of 11 per cent in the same period.

Canterbury witnessed the largest increase in the number of people declaring themselves bankrupt, up by 25 per cent to 184 in the first quarter of this year.

There was also an increase of 22 per cent in Medway, up to 154. There was a smaller increase in Maidstone, up six per cent to 38 cases.

Mark Sands, south east head of personal insolvency for accountants KPMG, said: "Even with base rates starting to fall, consumers are seeing the cost of their mortgages increase, fuel costs continue to go up and now food prices are rising in a manner not seen for years.

"More than a million homeowners face the end of cheap fixed rate deals this year, mortgage deals are increasingly difficult to secure and unsecured lending has tighter restrictions than for many years as a result of the credit crunch.

"Consumers are faced with a barrage of bad news with no sign of a respite. While many individuals will decide to take formal steps to deal with their over-indebtedness in the months ahead, driving personal insolvencies higher, many others may be able to take advantage of informal arrangements and tighter budgeting to avoid the worst effects of over-indebtedness.

"The message to everyone in difficulty is to take advice on all the options and then to act on that advice."

Separate figures from the Insolvency Service show that the average bankrupt has debts of £50,828.



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NUNEATON BOROUGH administration fears could be realised in the next 48 hours, leading to almost-certain relegation from Blue Square North.

Director Ian Neale is meeting legal advisers and insolvency experts in Birmingham today to see what can be done to take over the club's £750,000 debts and the outcome is not expected to be good.

Although the club have yet to receive any official communications from the Football Conference following their meeting to discuss Boro's predicament last week, it is believed they have decided to relegate the club to the Southern League as per league rules if the administrators are called in.

Neale, who wouldn't comment on the outcome of today's discussions, said: "We have plans in place to tackle each eventuality but we must move on as, at the moment, the club is just treading water. If we get relegated we need to decide whether to contest the ruling and get involved in a costly court battle we might lose or invest the money into the club.

"It would be purely a commercial decision if we did the latter and one not made from the heart. Things happen in my construction business that's not right but you just have to get on with it."

On that theme, Neale, who is currently in the process of completing a deal to buy the club, yesterday outlined interim plans to invest and improve Boro's home at Liberty Way whatever happens in the coming days.

He said: "I confirm our full commitment to Nuneaton to ensure we will do everything in our power to give it a bright future.

"As part of our commitment we are taking up and relaying the pitch while entering into a maintenance programme to give us a first class surface for the 2008-2009 season.

"We have agreed to reduce the pitch size to 100m x 70m in line with the team management's requirement and also commencing this week work starts on the new memorial garden adjacent to the river."

Neale also announced the Boro Social Club will close down on June 5 for around three weeks to refurbish and rebrand the New Boro Sports Bar.

Admission prices for next season are to be announced by the end of this month, later than usual due to the current financial position of the club.

At around the same time, further information regarding other major changes and developments at the club will be made.

Neale added: "We thank all the fans for there patience at this time. It's obviously a difficult time but the aim is for a bright future and sustainability. I am confident we can achieve that objective with the fans' support, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support."



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Like a mythical superhero with extraordinary capabilities, PC Laptops today announced it will begin offering free lifetime labor and service support to any owner of a PC Club brand computer.

Today’s announcement was made in light of the fact that the owners of PC Club were apparently forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. (See http://pcclub.com/.)

With the bankruptcy, PC Club closed 37 stores in eight states: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Prior to today, PC Club had three stores in Utah (in Riverdale, Murray and Orem), as well as a store in Las Vegas. In addition, PC Club also shuttered its online e-commerce Website: ClubIT.com.

“It stinks to be left with no place to turn to for any help, particularly with something like a personal computer,” said Dan (“The Laptop Man”) Young, president and founder of PC Laptops. “That’s why (as the largest independent personal computer company in the Rocky Mountain region) we’re announcing free lifetime labor and service support to any owner of a PC Club brand computer. Simply put, if you own a PC Club computer and you need help, come see us. Bring your desktop or laptop into one of our eight stores in Utah and Nevada, and we’ll get you taken care of right away – at no cost for labor or service.”

The hardware components within all personal computers typically carry manufacturer warranties of between one to five years. In the case of component failure within a PC Club-brand personal computer (such as the failure of a hard drive, mother board, graphics controller and the like), PC Laptops will also assist customers in coordinating with component manufacturers to ensure the best possible outcomes for replacing or upgrading such components that are still under manufacturer warranty.

Previously, PC Laptops launched similar free service and support programs when other PC companies have closed their doors or left the retail marketplace, including such national players as CompUSA, Gateway and Micron Computers (MPC), as well as Totally Awesome Computers (at the time, one of the largest independent desktop computer companies in the U.S.). (See http://pclaptops.com/news/news_pclexpansion.php.)

For more information on PC Laptops’ free lifetime service and support program for owners of PC Club brand computers, please visit any PC Laptops store, www.pclaptops.com/TotallyAwesomeAdoption.php or call 866-602-8677.

PC Laptops Erects Virtual “Help Wanted” Sign for Former PC Club Employees

In connection with PC Club’s closing, PC Laptops also announced today that it has immediate full-time job openings in Utah and Nevada for both salespeople and computer enthusiasts. As such, PC Laptops is encouraging former PC Club employees to consider coming to work for the largest independent computer company in the region.

“PC Laptops is a fantastic place to work, with health benefits, a 401K program, bonuses, employee discounts, a crazy-fun environment and more,” said J.D. Smith, executive vice president of PC Laptops. “We’re always looking for great employees; so if you, a friend or a family member used to work at PC Club, get in touch with us – we should definitely talk.”

When Totally Awesome Computers ceased operations in March 2006 and closed eight stores in the metropolitan Salt Lake City area, PC Laptops organized an immediate job fair for former employees of Totally Awesome Computers. After multiple interviews with scores of job candidates during a 48-hour period, PC Laptops hired 26 new employees within two days, most of whom had previously worked for Totally Awesome Computers.

“With our ongoing, rapid growth, we have more than 20 open positions right now between Utah and Nevada,” Young said. “So I strongly encourage qualified individuals to contact us right away.”

PC Laptops currently employs more than 80 sales, technical and staff members and executives at its nine locations (seven stores along the Wasatch Front in Utah, its store in Henderson, Nevada and its executive offices/warehouse in South Jordan, Utah).


About PC Laptops

Founded in 1994, PC Laptops is the leading computer company in the Intermountain region. With seven stores in Utah and one in Las Vegas, PC Laptops delivers incredible personal service and support with each customized laptop, desktop or gaming computer the company sells for personal or professional use.


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Fewer people will relocate to the South West to retire or set up businesses as the credit crunch takes hold, according to a leading economics professor.

The South West is the UK region most likely to lose out as tourists and economic migrants - mainly from London and the South East - dwindle, according to the spring edition of the South West Economic Review.The report's author, Professor Peter Gripaios, of the University of Plymouth Business School, said the national downturn was likely to have considerable knock-on effects for the Westcountry because of its dependence on London and the South East regions.

Prof Gripaios said the South East was the main source of tourists, retirees, domestic migrants, second home owners and domestic inward investment - all of which could dry up as the credit crunch really took hold.



The professor said fewer people could holiday in the region, more would find it harder to buy second homes here and businesses could be more inclined to "wait and see" before relocating.

If they moved premises, it could be to lower-cost foreign destinations.

However, people who could find life easier included those wanting to get on the housing ladder and insolvency practitioners.

On the subject of insolvency, the report forecast there would be a rise in both company and individual insolvency.

Although Prof Gripaios said events in America had led to the current downturn, he believed too little UK Government regulation of financial services and the Northern Rock crisis had not helped.

He said: "The huge expansion of the public sector during Gordon Brown's tenure at the Treasury has cost a lot, with a variety of stealth and other taxes gradually eating into disposable incomes."

The report also showed, according to Land Registry figures, that the employment rate for 2006-07 in Devon was 79.2 per cent. Pensioners made up 27.4 per cent of the population in 2005.

A separate report from the Royal Bank of Scotland found that the South West business sector continued to grow in April, despite a less favourable economic backdrop. However, the pace of expansion was the slowest since mid-2005.

Particular weakness was recorded in services, where activity stagnated. Manufacturing output increased at a marked rate and rising costs forced firms to raise prices.


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£ SIXTY per cent of people will have to cut their holiday spending this year, says pre-paid currency provider FairFX.com. The average person plans to spend £460 on their main break of the year.

£ THREE out of four of us don't know which current accounts offer the best rates of interest, according to comparison site Moneysupermarket.com Around a quarter have only ever had one current account.

£ FOOTBALL fans with savings and mortgage accounts at Britannia Building Society have made £4.21million for their favourite clubs. They get a cut according to how much fans spend.

£ CONSUMER debt has now reached £1.4trillion and is growing by £1million every five minutes - pushing more and more Britons into insolvency, says website uSwitch. It says the insolvency figure could reach more than 100,000 by the end of the year.

£ BLACKPOOL has 14 times as many B&Bs than the average and Kensington and Chelsea has four times as many estate agents, a business survey shows.



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The latest figures released by The Insolvency Service show that the number of businesses being forced into Administration or Receivership by their creditors has surged in the first three months of 2008.

Insolvency experts at PKF point out that the Government figures for the first quarter of 2008 show that the number of Administrations rose to 858, 54.0% higher than the previous quarter and 22.7% above the same period in 2007. The number is the second highest quarterly figure since the Enterprise Act of 2002 changed the rules governing Administrations.

Receiverships rose to 273 in Q1 of 2008 - the highest level since 2003 - 85.7% higher than the previous period and 145.9% higher than a year ago.

PKF Corporate Recovery Partner, David Merrygold said: “These figures should be of huge concern as they’re a barometer of business failure and show that the temperature is rising. While the Government chooses to focus on liquidations, which show single digit percentage increases, the numbers of companies being forced into Receivership or Administration by their creditors is rocketing.

“Clearly the credit crunch is having an impact and banks are increasingly wary of lending more money to businesses they don’t regard as cast iron while other creditors are tightening their payment terms with many starting to demand cash up front from all but their most trusted clients.

“The reality is that the thousands of small and medium sized enterprises that make up the backbone of the British economy are going to face increasing difficulty as cash flow is starting to dry up. And most businesses had not expected major fuel price hikes, with gas, electricity and diesel costs in particular adding significantly to their costs.

“Regrettably, I think these figures are the tip of the iceberg and likely to get increasingly worse this year.”



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Looking for a half-price digital camera to take on holiday this summer? Or a cheap iPod for the children?

Well you could get three iPod Nanos for under £100 or a Nikon camera at half the retail price, and they needn’t have fallen off the back of a lorry.

In the latest sign that the credit crunch has led to a renewed appetite for thrift, savvy consumers are snapping up cut-price goods from insolvency firms and auction houses, which offload possessions from businesses or individuals who have gone bust.

Auctioneers are reporting their best year ever for sales, with profits even higher than in the 1990s when repossessions were rife, according to the National Disposals Agency, the industry body.

Top-of-the-line TVs and laptops are going under the hammer at a fraction of the normal price as recovery agents dump stock on auction houses.

John Pye & Sons of Nottingham, one of Britain’s biggest auction houses, has seen a 32% increase in sales in the past year, while profits were up 43%.

The firm has sold more than 120,000 lots in the past 12 months, including plasma TVs, iPods, Sony TVs, Nintendos, satellite navigation systems, laptops, cars and vans repossessed from homes and businesses.

In many cases, the goods come from companies that have gone bust and personal insolvencies, although in others the stock is from solvent retailers that have simply failed to sell their products.

Sheldon Miller, the business development manager at John Pye, said: “Auction houses are a reliable barometer of leaner economic times — in the past six months we have seen a big rise in individual customers attending the auctions, compared with trade buyers.

“This has been our biggest growth year since we were founded 40 years ago.

“While 2004-6 were fairly quiet for the insolvency sector, we saw an increased trickle of cases last summer and since Christmas it has increased to a wave of instructions. We have been literally inundated with cases.”

Research from Capital Economics, a consultancy, last week showed that households are being forced to spend more of their income on essential expenses than at any time since 1991. The average household spends 31% of its income on mortgage or rental charges, utility bills, food shopping and council tax, leaving less for “non-essentials”.


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ELY kitchen company Crout Furniture Ltd has gone into liquidation with creditors claiming thousands of pounds.

The company, based in St Mary's Street and run by Peter Crout, called in the liquidators after a customer sued it for compensation.

It claims it was forced to take the action after Ely couple, Keith and Anne Mitchell successfully lodged their claim, saying a kitchen installed at their home was not completed, with many items being undelivered. Their arguments were supported by a Joint Statement of Experts put before the court.

Now the couple will join a list of creditors hoping for some compensation when the company is finally wound up.

Mr and Mrs Mitchell, of Cambridge Road, Ely took legal action against the company at Cambridge County Court claiming £15,000 plus costs.

They commissioned Crout Furniture to design, manufacture and install a new £29,000 kitchen. The company agreed to project manage the whole job including plumbing, electrical, plastering and flooring work and the Mitchells claim they handed over £21,000.

But they say the work was not carried out to a suitable standard and, when they were unable to find anyone to rectify the problems or complete the work started by Crout Furniture, they were forced to employ another company to install a completely new kitchen.

The court found in the couple's favour after Crout Furniture failed to lodge witness statements by a set date. Now the court must decide on the level of compensation to be paid to the Mitchells and they will join the creditors' list.

Mrs Mitchell said: "We liked the idea of a local company of long-standing doing the work. They told us they knew reliable trades people to use to take the hassle out of the job and we were impressed with the product we were shown.

"We have learnt some hard lessons from this episode."

Long-standing customer, Tony Warin, of Mildenhall had been totally satisfied with Crout Furniture when he commissioned the company to fit a kitchen in his home 20 years ago.

He contacted the firm again recently to provide £50,000 worth of kitchen and bedroom equipment for a Norfolk conference centre and paid a £5,600 deposit.

But he claims that 11 days after his cheque cleared, the firm went into liquidation.

"This has been a nasty experience," he said. "I had expressed some concern about the length of time the negotiations were taking to complete an order but, because we had no pressures on our timescales I wasn't too worried as the company had done good work in the past."

Suffolk-based liquidator, Steven Law, has been appointed to investigate Crout Furniture's affairs and estimates it could take up to a year reach a conclusion.

He said: "I am aware that one of the claims was subject to a court action. The liquidation was a voluntary action on the company's part and it has been attributed it to a court action."

Now Peter Crout claims he wants to be back in business under a new name.

Mr Law added, however: "I am not in the process of selling the business back to Mr Crout. This does happen in some liquidations, but not in this case.

"But any director has the right to make a living and if they choose to trade as a sole trader there is not a great deal any creditor can do about it."

Mr Crout told the Standard: "We have been a sole tradership and a limited company for 35 years and our reputation has kept us going all this time.

"I have run up about £20,000 in legal costs but the true costs are immeasurable. I wanted to call a truce and walk away. No-one wins in this situation.

"This has been a big setback. I cannot describe how bitter I feel. But I am hoping to trade again from the shop and I have chosen a new name.

"The one mistake we made was agreeing to be project manager and responsible for other trades people."


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A Cork firm that bred expensive shellfish has gone into liquidation, with debts of more than €2 million, after failing to secure new investment.

Feirm Eisc Chleire Teoranta, which produced abalone, a delicacy in Asia, has been in examinership for the past two months.

However, a rescue package could not be agreed, and the High Court has appointed Kieran Wallace, a partner at KPMG, as liquidator to the firm. Wallace will seek a buyer for the firm’s assets, including its abalone, land and its aquaculture licences.

The company, established in the early 1990s on Cape Clear island off west Cork, ran into financial difficulties after an aborted stock market flotation in London.

Feirm Eisc initially farmed turbot, halibut and rag worms, before starting a pilot scheme in 2002 to farm abalone, which sells for upwards of €100 a kilogramme.

In 2004,the company agreed a deal with Neptune Ocean Resources and its parent, Asia Abalone. Under the deal, Neptune took a 90 per cent stake in Feirm Eisc, with the remaining 10 per cent controlled by the Cape Clear Cooperative and Udaras na Gaeltachta.

In addition to an initial investment of €440,000,Neptune agreed to pay for the farm’s infrastructure and operating costs. Neptune planned to finance the deal with a flotation on the Alternative Investment Market in London, but the listing never took place.


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The number of UK companies going into administration has surged, with more than 850 businesses finding themselves insolvent in the first three months of 2008.

The number of companies in administration rose 54%, from 557 in the last quarter of 2007 to 858 at the end of the first quarter of 2008, according to research by magic circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. In the same period, liquidations in the UK have risen by 2% to 3,210 based on Insolvency Service statistics.

Freshfields restructuring and insolvency chief Ken Baird said: “The credit crunch has caused a sharp reduction in credit availability and higher loan costs, draining much of the available liquidity. This has triggered a downturn in fortunes across sectors, with companies that were already under financial pressure among the first to throw in the towel.

“The longer the crunch goes on, the harder it will be for many businesses. For some this may mean long-term survival cannot be guaranteed.”


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Quarterly figures released by the Insolvency Service, the government register of bankruptcies and individual voluntary arrangements, have come under fire from practitioners who say they fail to take into account the figures of failed IVAs and the number of debt management programmes.

Debt management programmes are similar to IVAs, but are not a legislative process and do not involve insolvency practitioners. DMPs consolidate all unsecured debts into a single monthly payment over a period of time agreed by the creditors.

Melanie Giles, insolvency practitioner at Jones Giles, said: ‘Given that the Insolvency Service statistics only focus on formal appointments, i.e. bankruptcies and IVAs, the ongoing trend of consumer indebtedness is not being appropriately represented ­ the number of people entering into debt management programmes is actually growing at a faster rate.

‘The Insolvency Service statistics ought to also focus on the number of failed IVA cases, particularly during their first year,’ Giles added.

Joanne Wright, personal insolvency partner at Begbies Traynor, said: ‘The statistics don’t reveal the whole picture, the demand for DMPs are high and the figure is unknown but towards the last six months of this year we are going to see a considerable rise in bankruptcy.’

Referring to the IVAs, a spokeswoman for the Insolvency Service said: ‘Although there is no legislative requirement to supply further information, we are currently working with the industry to deliver more market information in regards to IVAs’.

The Insolvency Service did not have a timescale of when that would be put in place.

DMPs are unlikely to be incorporated into government figures since the Insolvency Service has no connection with them and cannot measure them, the spokeswoman said.

According to the Insolvency Service there was a 1.7% increase in personal insolvency, and 4.3% increase in IVAs compared to last quarter.



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Corporate insolvencies have risen to their highest levels since the fall out from the dot-com crash, according to statistics compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Research found that insolvencies in the first quarter of 2008 rose by 21%, compared to the last quarter of 2007, and 17% year-on-year.

In total, 3,359 businesses across England and Wales entered into insolvency in the first three months of the year, as the rising cost of raw materials, low consumer confidence and the credit crunch took their toll.

However, Mike Jervis, a partner in the business recovery services practice at PwC, said the poor economic conditions were not solely to blame.

"Our experience shows that most company failure and insolvency is down to inadequate planning to deal with these more challenging conditions," he said.

He claimed there were four key areas to focus on: reviewing the business strategy to check that it is still relevant; ensuring that adequate finance and cash resources are in place; examining operational capacity to make sure it is employed in profit making areas of the business and managing relationships with staff, banks and suppliers.

PwC's survey comes as the CBI warned that confidence within the manufacturing sector had plunged amid massive price rises, to counter the effect of rising raw material costs.

In a survey, 50% of respondents said average unit costs had increased while only 10% said they had decreased.

CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty said: "Manufacturers are being forced to pass on higher costs to customers by increasing prices and are no longer able to absorb continuous cost increases into their profit margins."


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Company and personal insolvencies have risen for the first time since 2006, newly released figures have shown.

According to the Insolvency Service, the number of company cases rose to 3,210 in the first three months of 2008, a four per cent increase on the previous year.

Individual cases meanwhile rose to 25,264 across England and Wales, a 1.7 per cent increase on the previous quarter, but still 13.2 per cent fewer than last year.

Of the 25,264, 15,651 were bankruptcies, while the remaining 9.614 were IVA's.

It is partly a result of tighter lending criteria employed by banks, according to Mike Gerrard, a personal insolvency partner at Grant Thornton, who predicted the numbers will rise by the end of the year.

"This latest increase in personal insolvencies shows the financial strain being wrought on individuals from a combination of high living costs and tighter lending
conditions. It's a tough year to be struggling with debt," he said.

According to the Insolvency Service, there has been a sharp increase in the number of debtor's petition bankruptcies rather than creditor petition’s over the last few years.


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recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests that consumers in the UK need to pay more heed to signs of impending personal debt.

During the months of January and March of this year, a total of 25,264 people in England and Wales went bankrupt or entered into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), information from the government's insolvency service indicates.

"Consumers need to realise the consequences of entering bankruptcy or an IVA and the wide ranging impacts it can have on their lives,” commented Charles Turner, director in business recovery services. “These can range from difficulties in getting a mortgage to not being able to make routine purchases," said Mr Turner.

The data released represent a 1.7 per cent increase on the previous quarter, but a decrease of 13.2 per cent on the same period a year ago, the report indicates.

People should make time to seriously examine their personal budget, and to try to structure it realistically according to their earnings, Turner suggests. He further commented that, in relation to the country’s economy, personal insolvency figures are becoming "too high to be sustainable in the long term," the report concluded.

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The headline figure of 25,264 individual insolvencies for the first quarter of 2008 gives cause for alarm as it does not include a key group of debtors. Those in Debt Management Plans (DMPs) do not show up in these figures as they do not need to be recorded or registered. DMPs are non-statutory solution to an individual's debt problems and have for many years exceeded the number of bankruptcies and IVAs combined.

Therefore R3 calls on the Government (and the Insolvency Service) to start recording DMPs to give the full picture.

Debt Management Plans can often become ‘debt slavery’ where there is no guaranteed write-off of any debt, no interest reduction or debt forgiveness. We have heard of such plans can running for decades, compared to an IVA’s typically 5-year term.

First quarter figures for 2008 released today by the Insolvency Service show an increase in the number of individual insolvencies of 1.7% on the fourth quarter of 2007. The number of IVAs has increased from 9,218 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 9,614 in the first quarter of 2008 an increase of 4.3%.

Nick O’Reilly, President of R3 outlined the following concerns;

“The true number of individual unable to pay their debts in the UK could be three times higher than the Insolvency Service’s figures due to those in Debt Management Plans not being counted. R3 members, 97% of Insolvency Practitioners all over the UK, expect to see these figures continue to climb as the effects of the credit crunch seep through. I do not think we have seen the worst of it yet, as there is a time lag of at least six months as people go through the insolvency process.”

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Football League clubs which fall into insolvency and then fail to exit via a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) can now expect to be deducted 25 points in total, following the upholding last week of a similar sanction imposed on Leeds United. Clubs are expected to encounter this problem increasingly because Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs, always a substantial creditor where football clubs go into administration, is routinely voting against CVAs.

The Football League requires clubs coming out of insolvency to agree a CVA, a settlement which requires acceptance by 75% of creditors. HMRC has long refused to agree to be paid only a proportion of the tax and VAT it is owed while under the League's "football creditors' rule" players' wages, and any money owed to other clubs, are being paid in full.

Leeds incurred the automatic 10-point penalty when the club went into administration last May, then accepted a further 15-point deduction in League One when they failed to achieve a CVA. Having promised in writing not to take legal action, Leeds then initiated proceedings in the high court, seeking to have the 15 points reinstated, and the action was referred to arbitration.

Last week a three-man arbitration panel upheld the 15-point penalty as "reasonable and proportionate" in the circumstances, because Leeds had been seeking to join League One without complying with the rule that they had to achieve a CVA after going into administration.

Lord Mawhinney, the Football League's chairman, said of the ruling that he was very satisfied that the League's authority and rules had been upheld, and that the insolvency policy would continue to apply to the League's clubs.

Mawhinney added that while the League did not want to be bound strictly by the precedent of 25 points having been deducted from Leeds, that sanction is now "an established fact".

Each case will be judged on its merits, but Leeds' 15-point deduction on top the automatic 10-point penalty sets the bar for clubs which go into insolvency and fail to agree a CVA.


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ANGRY customers waiting for insurance cash from an Ansdell auction room have been told the company is going into voluntary liquidation.
Lot 3 auction house on Kingsway, Ansdell, was affected by a fire in the basement last June which destroyed a lot of items belonging to customers.

Yet 11 months on, people who gave furniture to Lot 3 say they have still not received compensation fADVERTISEMENTor lost items.

Earlier this week their frustration deepened when they were sent letters from a Preston business recovery company Marshall Peters inviting them to a creditors’ meeting later this month

Nightmare

Pensioner Neville Wakeling, 68, from Larbreck near Little Eccleston, says he entrusted Lot 3 with more than 80 items before the fire and believes he could be out of pocket for as much as £5,000.

He said: “This whole situation has been a nightmare, I wish we had never approached Lot 3 with our things.

“My wife and I married three years ago and took the decision that we would sell our furniture and start afresh. I had a lot of antiques, such as a rosewood captain’s chest, which were very hard to part with.

“To lose them is heartbreaking.

“I will be going along to the meeting but I am not hopeful.

“Our fresh start has had a black cloud over it because of this.”

Another pensioner, George Pothecary, 76, of Worsley Road, Ansdell, lost a pine dresser in the fire. He said: “I’m not surprised by the news of the liquidation.

“We’ve filled the forms in that the creditors have asked for but I expect we will just have to draw a line under this.”

Julie Hawes, the owner of Lot 3, said: “The decision to go into voluntary liquidation is the hardest one I have ever had to make and I have followed professional advice from the outset.

“I have done it so I can be completely open and honest about my figures and the situation. The company is still actually owed money.

“I feel dreadful for all the customers that have been affected by this but I can assure you I have done nothing deliberately and thought the best course of action was to leave money to be distributed by the liquidator.

“I worked hard to keep the business open but was inundated with inflated and unsubstantiated claims and, at times, I feared for my safety.

“It all became just too much. People who lost property in the fire may be able to claim on their house insurance and I will provide copies of documentation needed.”


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Further confirmation that the economy is entering its worst slowdown since the early 1990s came yesterday, as the Halifax index showed that house prices fell by another 1.3 per cent in April.


It follows a 2.5 per cent drop in March, and came as the Insolvency Service reported a 58 per cent jump in the number of companies going into administration in the first quarter of this year.

The Halifax data will be of most immediate concern to householders. Property values are down 0.9 per cent on the year, the worst performance since 1996, with only Scotland bucking the trend.

The figures are in line with those from Nationwide, and demonstrate how badly the credit crunch is hitting the British economy as banks and building societies choke off lending to homebuyers and businesses.

March witnessed a rush of banks withdrawing products as interbank lending rates (Libor) soared and the Bank of England reported worsening credit conditions for companies.

Personal insolvencies rose to 25,264 in the first quarter of this year, up 1.7 per cent on the last quarter, and at 3,210, corporate liquidations rose by 4 per cent on the year. The tally of 858 firms placed in administration was one of the highest in two decades.

Analysts also predicted that the situation would not improve quickly: Liz Bingham, head of corporate restructuring at Ernst & Young, said: "Insolvency may be the only option available for increasing numbers of individuals. Credit will be expensive and in short supply just as debts hit record highs – over 160 per cent of post-tax income, versus around 100 per cent in 2001.

"Meanwhile, price falls are reducing options for home equity withdrawal and inflation is eating into disposable income."

Malcolm Barr, UK economist at JP Morgan, added: "House price declines are running at just over a 7 per cent quarter-to-quarter annualised rate. There is no evidence that the decline in prices is tempting potential buyers back into the market, and the fall in house prices is gaining momentum."

Concern is increasingly focusing on the scale of the slump. The economist David Blanchflower, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, suggested on Thursday that "a correction of one third in house prices does not seem implausible in the UK over a period of two or three years if house price to-earnings ratios are to be restored to more sustainable levels."

Leading indicators also suggest a hefty drop. Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: "The number of new buyers interested in home purchase fell for the 16th successive month, highlighting the decline in housing demand." This month the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors put expectations for house prices at their lowest since 1978, while mortgage approvals are running at half last year's rate.

Repossession orders – which usually herald more actual repossessions and evictions – totalled over 100,000 in 2007, the highest since 1990. An increase in lending by the banks may come with the Bank of England's £50bn Special Liquidity Scheme, but few expect rapid relief. Problems in the housing market are having a knock-on effect on the construction industry. According to the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply, confidence dropped to its weakest levels in 1998 as levels of housing and commercial construction activity "fell markedly".

Evidence of continued weakness in the economy will increase the chances of a cut in interest rates when the Bank of England makes its next announcement on Thursday, although most observers expect no change.



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Several of the country's worst blackspots for insolvencies are South West England, according to new figures seen by the BBC.

Plymouth and Torbay are the worst and second-worst places in the whole of England and Wales.

Somerset's Taunton Deane is 10th worst, Caradon in Cornwall is 13th and Exeter in Devon is 14th.

The University of Plymouth, which is publishing the figures, is investigating the reasons for them.

The new statistics, to be released by the university's Plymouth Business School, look at the amount of voluntary agreements for bankruptcy or insolvency in 2006.

In Plymouth that year there were 819 agreements, working out at 0.43% of its population. Torbay came second with 448 cases, or 0.42% of its population.

Taunton Deane saw agreements for 0.38%, Caradon 0.37% and Exeter 0.36%.

One of the reasons given for the region's poor performance is its high levels of deprivation in some parts, as well as differences between earnings and house prices.

Professor Peter Gripaios of the business school said: "High house prices can lead to indebtedness. It's very costly to get on the housing ladder, it's also very costly to pay rent."

He added: "There may well be other factors.

"In Torbay, the importance of employment in tourism may lead to more bankruptcy.

"In Plymouth, various thing need to be explored, possibly even the role of the military."

Pre-credit crunch

BBC South West business correspondent Neil Gallacher said the military angle considered how troops were demobbed.

He said: "One possibility is that people tend to come out of defence jobs without much preparation for the financial realities of life in civvy street."

He added: "These figures are not evidence of the credit crunch because they cover the period before it started.

"But eventually the belt-tightening that's now going on in the economy will feed through into these figures and almost certainly reveal insolvencies running at a significantly higher level."

The university said it was planning further research.


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The number of people declared insolvent in England and Wales was up slightly in the first three months of 2008, the Insolvency Service has said.

The number of individual insolvencies stood at 25,264, up by 1.7% compared with the previous three months.

But it was still 13.2% fewer than over the same period a year ago.

Company liquidations were up 2% on the previous three months and rose by 4% compared with the same period a year ago to 3,210.


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CHAIRMAN Jeff Mostyn believes his latest cash injection has saved Cherries from certain liquidation - and given Kevin Bond's charges the chance to pull off the greatest escape in Football League history.

Mostyn was on Tuesday confirmed as the preferred bidder to take Cherries out of administration and, in a statement released exclusively to the Echo yesterday, he reveals how:


He couldn't let the club "go at the 11th hour";

He will be talking to supporters' trust chairman Derek Timoney to ensure the fans remain at the heart of the club;

Speculation over "multi-millionaires coming forward to save the club" has driven him to despair;

He has been "let down badly" by various promises of investment;

He has now found a partner to assist with funding the club.
Mostyn handed a cheque for £80,000 to administrator Gerald Krasner on Monday afternoon after the Begbies Traynor official called a press conference for Tuesday.

Krasner is understood to have been preparing to inform the press of the club's imminent closure after two other bidders, who were given until noon on Monday to lodge a £100,000 deposit, failed to come up with the cash in time.

And Mostyn, who now has total exclusivity with Krasner following his latest cheque signing, reiterated his disappointment after previous bids for the ailing club fell flat.

He said: "I made the decision late Monday afternoon. It became clear that no money was forthcoming from other bidders to provide the administrator with sufficient funds to save the club from the possibility of immediate liquidation, costing the club the chance of completing the season and possibly pulling off one of football's greatest miracles - survival in League One after a 10-point deduction.

"I couldn't let it go at the 11th hour and while I may not be the best man for the job, I am the only person who has stepped up to the plate every time there has been a need to provide funds to keep the club afloat.

"There may well be more qualified chairmen out there and there are certainly people waiting in the wings with considerably more wealth than me.

"But what I can tell you is there is no more passionate person than me, who was willing and prepared to help the club survive and move forward.

"All the speculation about the various multi-millionaires coming forward to save the club have resulted in nothing but despair for us all.

"Only three weeks ago I was stepping aside for a new group of people with great plans to take the club on.

"Unfortunately for us all, like many others, the bid did not come to fruition. I was as disappointed as all of our supporters.

"I now have the responsibility of putting forward a proposal to the administrator that will at last take the club out of administration and forward.

"I believe I have at last found a new partner to help me with the financial burden associated with running a football club - someone who will also provide a great deal of added value.

"In addition, Steve Sly will continue to be at my side as he always has been.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Steve for his amazing commitment and loyalty to me when others, to say the very least, have let me down badly.

"I am also, as a matter of urgency, looking to bring in senior executives to complement our existing staff and run the business on a day-to-day basis.

"I will also be talking to the supporters' trust chairman at the earliest opportunity next week to ensure we have a solid relationship with all of our supporters going forward.

"All I am interested in at the moment, however, is the game at Carlisle and my daughter's wedding on Saturday.

"Despite speculation, I am not going to make any further comments in respect of my partner or business plan until a formal agreement has been reached with the administrator."




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BOSS Kevin Bond believes Cherries could have gone into liquidation had it not been for Jeff Mostyn's timely intervention.

Mostyn stumped up £80,000 to keep Cherries afloat just hours before his offer to buy the club had been accepted by administrator Gerald Krasner on Monday.

Krasner yesterday awarded Mostyn preferred bidder status after revealing the club had been "in danger of collapsing" before the current chairman had stepped in to save the day.

Mostyn's consortium, which includes Steve Sly and at least one other member, was given exclusivity and now has an agreed period of time to complete the deal.

Bond told the Daily Echo: "It's fantastic news for the football club. I don't think enough people have really grasped it because they seem to think that there is an ulterior motive and always like to question this and that.

"I know Jeff has got AFC Bournemouth's best interests at heart and that is his first and foremost concern. He is not looking to come out of this with any great profit or trying to do land deals.

"The scenario would probably be quite the opposite whereby it will cost him more money. He's got the best intentions of AFC Bournemouth at heart and deserves a lot of credit for taking it on board."

Bond added: "Sometimes, I think he could be throwing good money after bad if he's not careful and, as a personal friend, I really don't want him to do that.

"But he has sat back and had time to digest the situation. It would appear he wants to carry on so I take my hat off to him and wish him the very best of luck.

"It doesn't bear thinking about what might have happened if he hadn't come forward. I think there was a very real possibility that the club could have gone into liquidation.

"There have been so many people who have had a view and been quick to criticise and tell other people how the club ought to be run.

"I think Jeff has done a fantastic job of running the club since he's been here. He's very popular and I know he will do as good a job as anyone else so I think the supporters ought to back him in every way they can."

Bond, whose friendship with Mostyn goes back more than 25 years, added: "He's a good man and you can't have enough good people working with you.

"The relationship between the chairman and the manager is probably the most important in a football club.

"Contrary to what people want to believe, we have plenty of disagreements about the way I do things or things that I've done. It's not all sweetness and light between us but I've got a lot of respect for him as I hope he has for me."



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