/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/000531.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R E U R O P E Wednesday, May 31, 2000, Vol. 1, No. 17 Headlines B U L G A R I A BALKAN AIRLINES: Troubled Bulgarian Carrier Hits Turbulence C Z E C H R E P U B L I C PRAZSKE PIVOVARY: At Risk of Bankruptcy SKODA HOLDINGS: Lost Kc3.6Bln in Debt Swap G E R M A N Y VIAG AG: Sees Increased Pressure on Electricity Earnings N E T H E R L A N D S BAAN: Stock Sinks As Takeover Talk Flows R U S S I A VARYOGANNEFTEGAZ: Under Bankruptcy Proceedings U N I T E D K I N G D O M AFS ENGINEERING: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings BELL GROUP: Shares Fell Sharply BELLVALE LTD: Notice of Administrative Proceedings BOO.COM: Liquidators Close to Finding Buyer BRITISH NUCLEAR: Faces Bankruptcy Confidential Report Exposes CASPER UK: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings CENTURY SEAL: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings CHRISTYS OF THAMES: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings COMPUTEREX LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings DATRONTECH: Troubled Company Shares Hit Low ELMORE PROJECTS: Notice of Receivership Proceedings F&R COOLING: Notice of Receivership Proceedings HAMILTON PROPERTIES: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings INDUSTRIAL ROOFING: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings JOHN SMITH LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings MILLENIUM DOME: Would Have Been Liquidated by Now if Private MONOWORLD LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings MOSS BROS: Shake-up as it Warns Again PK PARTITIONS: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings PRECISION INDUSTRIAL: Notice of Receivership Proceeding QUALITY VACTION: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings RCM LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings R. PAXTON ASSOCIATES: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings SPEEDEX ENGINEERING: Notice of Receivership Proceedings SUPREME BUSINESS: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings UK INSULATIONS: Notice of Receivership Proceedings WESTERLY GROUP: Notice of Receivership Proceedings WICKERWRIGHT LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings WOLVERHAMPTON & DUDLEY: Shares Slump as Margins Tumble =============== B U L G A R I A =============== BALKAN AIRLINES: Troubled Bulgarian Carrier Hits Turbulence ----------------------------------------------------------- Financial Times May 29, 2000 Even its name implies that recovery for Balkan Airlines, the troubled Bulgarian carrier, is likely to be a divisive affair. A nine-day strike earlier this month, staged by pilots demanding a 600 per cent salary increase, caused turmoil at the start of the Black Sea tourist season. Zheevi, an Israeli group that acquired the airline last year in a privatisation sale, faces the prospect of more industrial action as it implements a plan to cut employee numbers from 3,400 to 2,100 by the end of this year. "Balkan was an airline that was too big for a country the size of Bulgaria, and it was flying the wrong type of passengers to the wrong destinations," said Andrew Gray, a former British Airways manager who took over as chief executive last November. The carrier's restructuring has become a high-profile test of Bulgaria's progress with market reforms. The privatisation programme has picked up speed in the past year but only a handful of companies have attracted international investors. In contrast with Balkan, most loss-making state-owned companies were sold through management and employee buy-outs, leaving the new owners short of funds for investment and reluctant to cut jobs. Zheevi paid $150,000 for 75 per cent of the state carrier after a proposed management buy-out fell through. The Bulgarian state retained a 20 per cent equity stake, with the remaining 5 per cent held by employees. The Israeli group also took over $100m in debt accumulated when Balkan expanded its network to include long-haul destinations such as Bangkok and Johannesburg. "Trying to compete with big carriers on price didn't work," Mr Gray said. "Our vision is for Balkan to become an efficient high- quality carrier operating a small network of European routes." The pilots' strike came after Zheevi cut all Balkan's long-haul flights, which provided generous allowances and time off for aircraft crews at luxury hotels. Instead, its fleet of Soviet-era Tupolev aircraft is booked this summer to carry UK and German tourists on charter flights to Bulgaria's Black Sea resorts. "Bookings are robust in spite of everything," Mr Gray said. The pilots have settled for an immediate salary increase of 15 per cent and a pledge that negotiations on new contracts will continue during the tourist season. Before the walk-out Balkan was projected to make $12m in operating profits and break even this year, in what would be its best financial performance since the collapse of communism. Provided bookings remain firm for the remainder of the tourist season, a net loss of about $2m is forecast. Over the next three years the airline's fleet of 11 Tupolevs will gradually be replaced with Boeing 737 short-haul aircraft. On domestic flights ATR-42 propeller aircraft will take over from Soviet-made Antonov aircraft. "Balkan's strengths include good engineering and maintenance skills," Mr Gray said. "What's more, it's got a good record on punctuality with 86 per cent of flights being on time." =========================== C Z E C H R E P U B L I C ================================ PRAZSKE PIVOVARY: At Risk of Bankruptcy --------------------------------------- Prague Business Journal May 29, 2000 After four years of losses, British beer and hotel giant Bass Plc appears to be bowing out of its Czech venture, Prazske Pivovary, just in time. Nearly a year after it lost a battle for No. 3 brewer Pivovar Radegast, legal disputes with the brewery's minority shareholders are putting it at risk of bankruptcy. Last Friday's extraordinary shareholders meeting, called by the National Property Fund and fund manager Investicni Kapitalova Spolecnost (IKS), which hold a combined 10% stake, took place only a day after Bass' group chairman, Ian Prosser, signaled the likely sale of the entire brewing arm of Bass. The global sell-off coincides with tough times for Bass' local operations, according to analysts and shareholders. Prazske Pivovary has a 13% stake on the domestic beer market, but has been unable to turn that into profits. "The company is in a very bad state," said Michal Zazvonil from Prague Securities, a failed brokerage house disaffected with majority shareholder Bass. He said there was a bankruptcy filing pending and blamed the Bass managers for "some unclear operations" related to pricing and financial management. "They have been there for four years, and they've kept on showing losses," said Miroslav Nosal, from Merrill Lynch in London, putting the blame squarely on the British management. "Although they have kept their position on the market, their corporate governance and financial management has been terrible." Bass has clearly been disappointed with developments on the Czech market, where it once hoped to create the country's largest brewing group. Since 1995 Prazske Pivovary has been in the red, starting at Kc 152 million for 1996 - the first year when Bass controlled majority in the company - to Kc 255 million in 1997, and reaching its record loss of Kc 766 million for 1998. The cumulative loss of Kc 1.27 billion was attacked by minority shareholders as it exceeded 50% of shareholder equity of Kc 1.7 billion. The loss-making streak continued last year as well, as Prazske Pivovary reported a loss of Kc 370 million, though audited results are not yet available. In 1998 Bass was going to react to the situation with additional capital injection, but due to a lawsuit filed against them by 2% shareholder Prague Securities, the capital increase never took place. Bass CEO Graham Staley blamed this move for the brewery's financial problems. "The most significant drain on cash flow - Kc 300 to 400 million [of debt service payments] annually - comes from the delayed capital infusion. While we are sitting here, we have incurred Kc 1 million in interest costs," Staley said during Friday's shareholders' meeting. Although London analysts are already counting days and weeks before Bass' beer holdings change hands, Staley refused to comment on the Bass beer sale, which hit newswires at the end of last week. "Any speculation on the future of Bass is purely hypothetical," he said. But other Prazske Pivovary shareholders are being realistic about the situation. "We are very uncertain shareholders with regard to our stake and with regards to the speculation about [Bass's exit]," said Alena Miskovicova from IKS. Its director, Roman Pospisil, added that IKS was looking to sell its stake in the brewery along with Bass, as it hasn't been happy with the investment. "They've never been big globally. China didn't work, in the Czech Republic they had losses and I think they realized that they reached the point that they were either going to get bigger or get smaller," said one London-based beer analyst. "Everybody is going to pan-European brands and they couldn't compete with Carlsberg or Heineken in that." Although Bass, which is the UK's second-largest brewer, hasn't made a final announcement on the sale, it was widely expected that it would include the Czech holding. Dutch Heineken and Danish Carlsberg were the most frequently mentioned buyers by analysts, while South African Breweries and Belgian Interbrew would likely be subject to anti-monopoly scrutiny. A beer analyst for a Dutch bank said that Heineken would be more favored as it generally tends to prefer a majority stake, unlike Carlsberg. It is also looking for a good brand name for Central and Eastern Europe in exchange for its key regional brand Zlaty Bazant of Slovakia, while PP's Staropramen would be a better alternative, the analyst said. Bass suffered another blow in its Czech beer holdings when Ceske Pivo, controlled by Japanese Nomura Securities, seized control of Pivovary Radegast, where Bass a held minority stake. Bass sold it off in September 1999, giving Ceske Pivo - which also controls market leader Plzensky Prazdroj - about a 45% share of the Czech beer market. Last year Nomura sold a majority in Ceske Pivo to South African Breweries. Prazske Pivovary's share price closed at Kc 43.57, barely above its 12-month low of Kc 38. SKODA HOLDINGS: Lost Kc3.6Bln in Debt Swap ------------------------------------------ Prague Business Journal May 29, 2000 The Revitalization Agency says IPB's backing out of an agreement regarding a planned Kc 2.1 bln debt-for-equity swap at Skoda Holding puts the CR's most ambitious restructuring project to date in jeopardy. IPB, which says it did not take part for "technical reasons," will thus remain a creditor - not a shareholder - of the planned successor to Skoda Plzen, which puts the bank in a superior position should the engineering firm, which lost Kc 3.6 bln last year, end up bankrupt. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= VIAG AG: Sees Increased Pressure on Electricity Earnings ------------------------------------------- Handelsblatt English Summary 30 May 2000 After 77 years of independence, German utility Viag AG on Monday held what is likely to have been its last shareholders' meeting ahead of its planned merger with Veba AG to form E.ON AG. Chief executive Wilhelm Simson told the meeting that he saw good chances of matching 1999's operating result this year, but warned that the the substantial cost-cutting measures Viag had implemented might prove insufficient to make up for revenue lost as a result of cuts in electricity prices. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== BAAN: Stock Sinks As Takeover Talk Flows ---------------------------------------- Reuters May 26 Speculation over whether Baan would be taken over sent the troubled business software company's shares on a roller-coaster ride in early Friday trade. The stock topped the gainers within the first 15 minutes, rising as much as 14 percent and adding to Thursday's meteoric 90 percent rise. But before the first hour of trade was over, it was back at the bottom of the pile, off 16 percent at 2.55 euros. It was down 10.5 percent at 2.74 euros at 0808 GMT in a slightly weaker blue chip AEX index. "Today it's Invensys, yesterday it was Oracle. This is a very volatile stock," one dealer said. No-one at Baan was immediately available to comment on latest reports that Britain's Invensys Plc, an industrial-automation and controls group which wants to expand its sotware activities, was looking at the company. On Thursday Baan soared 90 percent on talk that Oracle Corp was considering a bid, although analysts dismissed the idea, saying such a move would not fit Oracle's acquisition strategy. Dealers said Baan's stock volatility was chiefly down to private investors, willing to take a gamble because the shares were so cheap. "Professionals are not looking at this stock. We have it in our portfolio as part of the AEX but we're not playing with it at all," one dealer at a major international bank said =========== R U S S I A =========== VARYOGANNEFTEGAZ: Under Bankruptcy Proceedings ---------------------------------------------- Reuters May 26, 2000 Russia's Sidanko oil company, 10 percent owned by the UK's BP Amoco, said on Friday it would repay debt owed by its Varyoganneftegaz subsidiary to prevent the unit falling into bankruptcy and being sold. Varyoganneftegaz creditors recently voted to sell the unit, though Sidanko did not attend the meeting and called it illegal. Sidanko's new move could give it the power to stop that sale by stripping creditors of their power over Varyoganneftegaz. Sidanko said in a statement that it had requested Varyoganneftegaz's external manager to provide by Tuesday a register of the unit's debts and bank account details of all creditors in order to make the payment. The total outstanding debt is $18.5 million. Sidanko paid its own debt to Varyoganneftegaz, $13.6 million, earlier this week. Varyoganneftegaz, which produced 2.5 million tonnes of crude in 1999, has been under bankruptcy proceedings since July 1999. Earlier on Friday the European Bank For Reconstruction and Development said it had settled a $50 million loan with another Sidanko unit, Chernogorneft. Chernogorneft and yet another bankrupt Sidanko unit, Kondpetroleum, had been sold at an auction to Tyumen Oil Company, which then reached a deal with Sidanko to return Chernogorneft in exchange for a blocking stake in Sidanko. Sidanko, Russia's sixth largest oil producer, itself was declared bankrupt last May. But in January it reached an amicable agreement with creditors on restructuring $460 million debt. Sidanko produced 19.6 million tonnes of crude in 1999. ============================ U N I T E D K I N G D O M ============================ AFS ENGINEERING: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name : A F S Engineering Co Ltd Company No : 1700014 Com. Business : Precision Engineering Appointed on : 15/05/00 Type : Creditors Appointed by : Creditors Liquidators : Kian Seng Tan IPno: 8032 Firm Name : K S Tan & Co Address : 10-12 New College Parade Finchley Road City Postcode : London NW3 5EP BELL GROUP: Shares Fell Sharply ------------------------------------------- Financial Times May 29, 2000 Shares in Bell Group, the banking security technology provider, fell sharply on Friday from 1921/2p to 971/2p on the back of a profit warning. Bell said it had incurred a loss in April and turnover for the first four months of the year was down 20 per cent. The company said first half results would be "significantly" below market expectations. It said that though orders were returning to expected levels, the full effects would not be seen until later this year and into 2001. However, Bell expected to maintain the interim dividend. Pat Curran, chief executive, attributed the slump to restructuring among the company's clients and the fact that some of them had taken longer than expected to return to normal business after dealing with millennium issues. Bell specialises in security systems for the UK and Irish financial service sectors. BELLVALE LTD: Notice of Administrative Proceedings -------------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name : Bellvale Ltd Company No : 3083057 Appointed on : 12/05/00 Type : Administration Order Administrators: B S Creber Ipno : 1062 P A Revill 6421 Firm Name : Poppleton & Appleby Address : 93 Queen Street City Postcode : Sheffield S1 1WF BOO.COM: Liquidators Close to Finding Buyer ------------------------------------------- Reuters May 26, 2000 The liquidator for collapsed Internet clothing retailer boo.com is close to securing a buyer for the business and is likely to make an anouncement next week, a spokesman for liquidator KPMG said on Friday. Several prospective buyers are in final talks with the big accountancy firm and an announcement is expected on Tuesday. Dutch Internet service provider chello broadband, owned by cable TV company United Pan-Europe Communications NV, denied rumours that it was in talks with KPMG. "Chello broadband is categorically not in discussions with boo.com to purchase it," chello spokesman Ross Sampson told Reuters in Amsterdam. It had earlier declined to comment. KPMG said a break-up of boo.com was still not ruled out. "We are confident of selling but at this stage we can't say whether it will be in one go or whether the company will be broken up," the KPMG spokesman told Reuters. "The number of prospective buyers has reduced from the half dozen or so in the early part of this week, but, because they are entering a fairly sensitive phase, we cannot say how many buyers are still in the frame." KPMG is in a hurry to clean up the mess at boo.com, which collapsed this month in Europe's first big dot-com failure after a big haemorrhage of cash which spooked Net investors worldwide. The online sportswear retailer had burnt through much of the $135 million it had raised from investors, and had just 500,000 pounds in the bank when the liquidator was brought in. KPMG has made 220 employees redundant and retained around 30 staff who are helping it in the potential sale of the business. The biggest sufferer is Omnia, an investment fund backed by members of Lebanon's wealthy Hariri family, which put nearly $40 million in the company in the past eight months. Other investors include Sedco, believed to be backed by the Bin Mahfouth banking family in Saudi Arabia, Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury goods group LVMH, the Italian Benetton family, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. Creditors, most of whom are advertising agencies, are owed around $25 million. BRITISH NUCLEAR: Faces Bankruptcy Confidential Report Exposes ------------------------------------------- The Sunday Telegraph London May 28, 2000 BRITISH Nuclear Fuels, the state-owned atomic energy company which the Government plans to privatise, is facing bankruptcy after the discovery of a pounds 9 billion black hole in its accounts. A confidential internal report has exposed unexpected costs which bring the total long-term liabilities in BNFL accounts to up to pounds 36 billion - which threatens the company with financial ruin and will be seen as the last nail in the coffin of privatisation plans and could lead to customers unilaterally revoking their contracts. The disclosure will be a huge embarrassment to the Government, which was criticised last week by the cross-party Trade and Industry Select Committee for being ill-informed about BNFL and told to "get a better grip" on the company's affairs. The new liabilities are thought to relate to the costs of cleaning up the company's Sellafield site in Cumbria, where nuclear fuel is reprocessed and are between pounds 7 billion and pounds 9 billion, according to the report. Although a share of the liabilities will be passed to BNFL customers and the rest can be spread over many decades, the immediate impact is to leave the company technically bankrupt. It means BNFL is pounds 1.5billion worse off than it thought - given that it had shareholders' funds of pounds 600 million, the company now has a deficit of about pounds 900 million. The problem was uncovered during a review conducted by the BNFL's Liabilities Management Unit. Industry insiders say the unit, staffed largely by executives from Magnox, the nuclear generator which was merged with BNFL last year, took a more rigorous approach to how easily and efficiently decommissioning and clean- up at the Sellafield site can be carried out. The report will also fuel the debate over whether the site should be closed. BNFL was involved in controversy last year when it admitted falsifying quality checks on mixed oxide nuclear fuel sent to Japan. Since then the company has faced a barrage of criticism with calls from Denmark and Ireland to close down Sellafield and attempts by some of its major customers to renege on their contracts. Sellafield discharges eight million litres of nuclear waste into the Irish Sea every day, according to scientists, making it the most radioactively contaminated sea in the world. It also releases 40 different types of radioactive substances into the sea and the air. CASPER UK: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Casper (UK) Ltd Company No: 3510979 Com. Business: Couriers/Executive Car Services Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Anthony Murphy IPno: 8716 Firm Name: Smith & Williamson Address: Onslow Bridge Chambers Bridge Street City Postcode: Guildford GU1 4RA CENTURY SEAL: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Century Seal Windows Ltd Company No: 2790558 Com. Business: Double Glazing Manufacture/Retailer Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: L Harris IPno: 5437 Firm Name: Leonard Harris Address: 75 Mosley Street City Postcode: Manchester M2 3HR CHRISTYS OF THAMES: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Christys of Thames Ditton Ltd Company No: 3346633 Com. Business: Restaurantuers Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Andrew J Whelan IPno: 8726 Firm Name: Marks Bloom Address: 60-62 London Road City Postcode: Kingston-u-Thames KT2 6QZ COMPUTEREX LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Computerex Ltd Previous Name: Ballantyne Ross Internet Ltd Company No: 3246825 Com. Business: Internet Publishing Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: Stephen P Wadsted IPno: 6064 Firm Name: HLB Kidsons Address: Spectrum House 20-26 Cursitor Street City Postcode: London EC4A 1HY DATRONTECH: Troubled Company Shares Hit Low ------------------------------------------- Citywire May 26, 2000 Datrontech shares hit low following profits warning Datrontech Group, the European PC component and networking products distributor, has warned it is likely to show a loss for the first half of the financial year. The company's shares fell a further 1p on the news, to an all time low of 14.25p. Last month, the troubled company reported a loss for the year to 2 January 2000 - although it did make a small profit in its second half. However, following today's AGM, Datrontech said its first quarter's trading had been `profitable but mixed', and April was `disappointing. The current outlook indicates that the first half is likely to show a loss', Datrontech said. ELMORE PROJECTS: Notice of Receivership Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name : Elmore Projects Ltd Company No : 3181344 Com. Business : Builders Trade clasif. : 23 Appointed on : 12/05/00 Appointed by : Barclays Bank PLC Type : Administrative Receivers : Timothy C Ball Ipno: 8081, Martin Pickard 6833 Firm Name : Mazars Neville Russell Address : Clifton Down House Beaufort Buildings City Postcode : Bristol BS8 4AN F&R COOLING: Notice of Receivership Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: F and R Cooling Ltd Previous Name: Velocity Twenty One Ltd Company No: 2205872 Com. Business: Manufacturer of Electrical Equipment Trade clasif.: 07 Appointed on: 12/05/00 Appointed by: HSBC Bank Plc Type: Administrative Receivers: T Frid IPno: 6030, Alan Lovett 6476 Firm Name: Ernst & Young Address: Broadwalk HOuse Southernhay West City Postcode: Exeter EX1 1LF HAMILTON PROPERTIES: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Hamilton Properties Ltd Company No: 419735 Com. Business: Holding & Letting of Property Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: Stuart G Falconer IPno: 5911 Firm Name: HLB Kidsons Address: 27 Osborne Street City Postcode: Grimsby DN31 1NU INDUSTRIAL ROOFING: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Industrial Roofing Services Ltd Company No: 3367801 Com. Business: Roof Erection Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Martin A Shaw IPno: 6334 Rupert G Mullins 7258 Firm Name: BKR Haines Watts Address: Sterling House Maple Court Maple Road City Postcode: Barnsley S75 3DP JOHN SMITH LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: John Smith (Transport Contractors) Ltd Company No: SC Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: William D Robb IPno: 5199 Firm Name: W D Robb Address: Scott House 12/16 South Frederick Street City Postcode: Glasgow G1 1HJ MILLENIUM DOME: Would Have Been Liquidated by Now if Private ------------------------------------------------------------ Financial Times May 26, 2000 David Quarmby, the new chairman of the Millennium Dome operating company, has admitted that the Dome would have gone into liquidation by now if it had been in the private sector. The admission by the former managing director of Sainsbury's, the supermarket chain, came as one Dome board director said that its new chairman would be asking the Millennium Commission for more lottery funds. "Whatever happens, they'll have to give us some more money," said the director. In an interview yesterday, Mr Quarmby did not rule out having to ask for more cash after being given ?29m this week - ?9.6m less than requested - by the commission, which distributes lottery money. "The financial position is tight but we are going to manage to get through it," said Mr Quarmby, who became chairman of the New Millennium Experience Company after the commission made the resignation of Bob Ayling a condition of its grant. "However this is a risky business and things may not go according to plan. You never say never. "If this were a conventional business, I guess we'd have gone into liquidation. But that's not what this is about." The ?758m project has run into severe cashflow problems following much lower than forecast attendances. Mr Quarmby said costs were being reviewed and a revised business plan would be presented to the commission. MONOWORLD LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Monoword Ltd Company No: 1878614 Com. Business: Computer Software Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Colin I Vickers IPno: 8953 John W Powell 7888 Firm Name: Levy Gee Address: Southfield House 11 Liverpool Gardens City Postcode: Worthing BN11 1RY MOSS BROS: Shake-up as it Warns Again ------------------------------------------- Financial Times May 26, 2000 Moss Bros shares fell sharply on Friday as the men's wear retailer issued its second profits warning this year and announced a shake-up of the group, which includes high street names such as Cecil Gee and Blazer. The shares tumbled almost a quarter from 48p to 37-1/2p, following the revelation that Moss Bros would fall into loss in the first half, before exceptionals. The group also revealed that sales in the first 16 weeks were running some 2.5 per cent lower on a like-for-like basis. Rowland Gee, managing director, said the group would have to close or sell underperforming stores, and rationalise the high street chains, which also include The Suit Company and Savoy Tailors Guild. It would also abandon plans for Ourbigday, its internet wedding portal. He said there would be job losses as a result, although these were unspecified. Costs of the rationalisation were estimated at ?12m ($18m), but were expected to result in annual savings of some ?2.4m. Cash flow would also improve by ?1.1m a year. The news of poor trading at Moss Bros came as Sir Stuart Hampson, chairman of John Lewis, painted a grim picture for retailers over the coming months and hit out at the government for imposing extra costs at a time of price deflation. PK PARTITIONS: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: PK Partitions Ltd Company No: 3147198 Com. Business: Builders Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: A J Clark IPno: 6759 Firm Name: Moore Stephens Booth White Address: Sidcup House 12-18 Station Road City Postcode: Sidcup DA14 6NZ PRECISION INDUSTRIAL: Notice of Receivership Proceeding ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name : Precision Industrial Products Ltd Company No : 3402533 Com. Business : Manufacturing/Engineering Trading Name : Presswork Products Trade clasif. : 7 Appointed on : 11/05/00 Appointed by : ISIS Factors Plc Type : Administrative Receivers : Frank Wessely IPno: 7788, Peter J Hughes-Holland 1700 Firm Name : Morley & Scott Address: 81 Station Road City Postcode : Marlow SL7 1NS QUALITY VACTION: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Quality Vacation Concepts Ltd Company No: 3615552 Com. Business: Holiday Promotions Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Gordon A M Simmonds IPno: 5729 Firm Name: Simmonds & Co Address: Crown House 217 Higher Hillgate City Postcode: Stockport SK1 3RB RCM LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: R C M (UK) Ltd Company No: 3532901 Com. Business: Debt Collection/Credit Management Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: D Swaden IPno: 5495 Firm Name: BDO Stoy Hayward Address: Federation House Hope Street City Postcode: Liverpool L1 9BW R. PAXTON ASSOCIATES: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Richard Paxton Associates Ltd Previous Name: Sphere Consultants Ltd Company No: 3297096 Com. Business: Consultants Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: S R Thomas IPno: 1289 P S Dunn 2368 Firm Name: Horwath Clark Whitehill & Co Address: Sherlock House 7 Kenrick Place City Postcode: London W1H 3FF SPEEDEX ENGINEERING: Notice of Receivership Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name : Speedex (Engineering) Ltd Company No : 0413240 Com. Business : Manufacturer Metal Structures/Parts Trade clasif. : 07 Appointed on : 11/05/00 Appointed by : Barclays Bank PLC Type : Administrative Receivers : Edward Klempka IPno: 5791, Stephen A Ellis 8843 Firm Name : PricewaterhouseCoopers Address : 9 Bond Court City Postcode : Leeds LS1 2SN SUPREME BUSINESS: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Supreme Business Machines Ltd Company No: 1206086 Com. Business: Computer Supplies Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: Graham G King IPno: 2223 Firm Name: Kings Address: 3 College Street City Postcode: St Albans AL3 4PW UK INSULATIONS: Notice of Receivership Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name : UK Insulations Supplies Ltd Previous Name : ChooseTree Ltd Company No : 3314667 Com. Business : Wholesale Trading Trade clasif. : 5170 Appointed on : 12/05/00 Appointed by : Royal Bank Invoice Finance Type : Administrative Receivers : Raymond Hocking IPno: 2322, David H Gilbert 2376 Firm Name : BDO Stoy Hayward Address : 8 Baker Street City Postcode : London W1M 1DA WESTERLY GROUP: Notice of Receivership Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name : Westerly Group Ltd Previous Name : Westerly Yacht Construction Ltd Company No : 2631020 Com. Business : Build/Repair Boats Trade clasif. : 11 Appointed on : 11/05/00 Appointed by : National Westminster Type : Administrative Receivers : Alan Lovett IPno: 6476, Michael D Rollings 8107 Firm Name : Ernst & Young Address : Apex Plaza City Postcode : Reading RG1 1YE WICKERWRIGHT LTD: Notice of Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Insolvency UK Company Name: Wickerwright Ltd Company No: 3525876 Appointed on: 15/05/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Guy Huntingdon IPno: 6035 Firm Name: Huntington Moore Address: 1 Old Hall Street City Postcode: Liverpool L3 9HF WOLVERHAMPTON & DUDLEY: Shares Slump as Margins Tumble ------------------------------------------- Reuters May 26, 2000 Shares in Britain's largest regional brewer, Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries Plc, turned flat on Friday as its profit margins fell due to over-ambitious beer price cuts at its high street pubs. The stock was marked down over 17 percent as the brewing and pub group admitted it had been over-zealous in its price promotions in the last few months of 1999, and then had to take corrective action with a beer price rise in April. The shares closed off nearly 10 percent at 328 pence after hitting an early low of 301-1/2p. Before Friday they had underperformed the stock market by nearly 40 percent and the UK brewing sector by 20 percent. "We probably overcooked the first quarter with over-generous price offers, but since January we have reined back on price promotions and pushed through a price rise on April 1," said group Managing Director David Thompson in an interview. He added the group's retail operating margin from its 941-strong managed pubs estate fell to 16.9 percent, down from 17.9 percent, and around three percentage points below historic W&D retail margins of nearly 20 percent. This three percentage point gap cost the group five million pounds and Thompson said results were "below our expectation" as it faced competition from pub chains like J D Wetherspoon Plc and Yates Brothers Wine Lodges Plc. "The results were disappointing, but this is probably the nadir in the company's fortunes and it now looks as if the group's problems could be behind it," said drinks analyst Nigel Popham at brokers Teather and Greenwood. S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Troubled Company Reporter Europe is a daily newsletter co- published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC. Peter A. Chapman and Sharon Cuarto, Editors. Copyright 2000. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2754. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. 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