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                            E U R O P E

            Wednesday, September 20, 2000, Vol. 1, No. 95
   
                            Headlines

B E L G I U M

INTERNATIONAL BRACHYTHERAPY: Reports First Half Net Loss
REAL SOFTWARE: Needs Help to Reduce Debt


C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: Bad Loans May Exceed 80 Percent
UNIPETROL HOLDING: Ministry to Launch Sale this Year
VITKOVICE: Metallurgy Firm Posts 1999 Loss of Kc 10.4 Billion


G E R M A N Y

GIGABELL: Files for Insolvency


I R E L A N D

FRUIT OF THE LOOM: Troubled Factory to Cut 300 Jobs
HARLAND & WOLFF: Faces an Unsettled 133 Million Pounds Claim


I T A L Y

ALITALIA: Reports Loss Before Exceptional Items of L342.5bn


S P A I N

LA CELLOPHANE: UCB to Close Spanish Cellophane Factory


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ACMI UK:  Liquidation Proceedings
ACORN PRESERVATION:  Liquidation Proceedings
ADAS CONSTRUCTION:  Liquidation Proceedings
BAYSWATER INTERNATIONAL:  Liquidation Proceedings
BRITISH NUCLEAR: Warns it May Scrap ?400m Plant

BYCOM (UK) :  Liquidation Proceedings
E T BAILEY:  Liquidation Proceedings
GRAFTON SALES:  Liquidation Proceedings
H J COLEBORN:  Liquidation Proceedings
HELIFLEX (UK) LTD: Liquidation Proceedings

MG ROVER: In Cash Talks
MARKS AND SPENCER: Plans to Restructure; Chief Executive Leaves
MILLENIUM DOME: Legacy Near Buy of Insolvent Dome
MILLENIUM DOME: Fraud Inquiry at Britain's Troubled Dome
MILLENIUM DOME:  Dome Directors Could be Sued Over its Debts

STURMEY ARCHER: Bicycle Gear Maker To Close
WIRELESS GROUP: Reports First-Half Losses of 25.7 Million Pounds


=============
B E L G I U M
=============

INTERNATIONAL BRACHYTHERAPY: Reports First Half Net Loss
--------------------------------------------------------
International Brachytherapy SA, a Belgian cancer treatment firm,
reported a net loss of 141.40 million Belgian francs for the six
months to June 30, 2000. First-half 2000 turnover includes 19.95
million Belgian francs in sales and another 26.21 million francs
reflecting advances from the Wallonia regional government and a
payment by Mallinckrodt. This is the first stage of payments
under a distribution agreement with the U.S. healthcare company,
Reuters reported earlier this week.


REAL SOFTWARE: Needs Help to Reduce Debt
----------------------------------------
Reuters reported earlier this week that Belgian software firm
Real Software may now need to sell up to a 10 percent stake to
reduce its debt. Real Software needs to cut its debt-to-equity
ratio of 180 percent to a more manageable level and restore
management credibility. "They need money," Smeets Securities
analyst Bert Maes told Reuters. "They have a balance sheet
problem." Real Software shares plunged 9.64 percent to close at
49.70 euros, after earlier touching a 21-month low of 49.55
euros.

Analysts said Chairman Rudy Hageman told them he was considering
selling a stake of up to 10 percent. Hageman told Reuters the
company could sell up to a five percent stake. Turnover rose to
128.1 million euros from 125.4 million. The company said it had
net debt of 223 million euros. Analyst Maes said Real Software
needed to raise more than 75 million euros to reduce its net debt
to equity ratio to 100 percent. Bank Degroof analyst Piet De Neve
said the company would have to sell the equivalent of about a 10
percent stake to raise that kind of money.


===========================
C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C
============================

INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: Bad Loans May Exceed 80 Percent
------------------------------------------------------
Managers for Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka have reached the
conclusion that Investicni a Postovni Banka, purchased in June,
is in worse shape than they orginally expected. Two CSOB board
members told the Prague Business Journal that while the Czech
Republic's banking sector recorded about 30 percent of classified
loans, IPB leaders may have accumulated as much as 80 percent of
classified loans, according to preliminary results of the audit
of IPB's loan book conducted by auditor Arthur Anderson.

"The volume is around 80 percent of the total loan book [of Kc
181 billion]," said one of the two board members. IPB fell apart
completely in mid-June in a liquidity crisis amid rumors and
reports of worsening books. The Czech National Bank's forced
administrator Petr Stanek promptly sold its assets to CSOB, the
country's most stable large bank, owned by Belgian KBC.

"Among the loans there are some which cannot even be described as
loans," said one of the board members. IPB's classified loan
portion is even larger than that of 100 percent state-owned
workout bank, KoB, which handles bad loans from most of the Czech
Republic's largest banks as they have privatized and
restructured.


UNIPETROL HOLDING: Ministry to Launch Sale this Year
----------------------------------------------------
The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) intends to launch
the privatization of petrochemical holding company Unipetrol
already this year, expecting proceeds worth Kc7.4bn-16bn, the
daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD)& Euromoney reported yesterday.

The draft plan for restructuring the industry indicates a
significant shift in the Ministry's stance on privatization of
the sector closer towards the stance of the Czech Finance
Ministry, MfD points out. The Industry and Trade Ministry plans
to keep Unipetrol in the hands of the state for the next twelve
years for which Unipetrol's loan and bond contracts are in force.
The Ministry is now considering the option that the recently
hired advisor should contract new terms and free the company from
its long-term obligations, MfD writes.


VITKOVICE: Metallurgy Firm Posts 1999 Loss of Kc 10.4 Billion
-------------------------------------------------------------
V¡tkovice has won a court decision for a court settlement with
its creditors, thus diverting the threat of bankruptcy,
Hospodarske Noviny & Czech Republic reported yesterday. The
troubled metallurgy concern must pay creditors 30 percent of the
nominal value of their claims through bills of exchange
guaranteed by Konsolidacni Banka. Vitkovice, which posted a 1999
loss of Kc 10.4 bln and against which roughly 20 bankruptcy
petitions have been filed, has two years to complete the
restructuring and stabilization of the company.


=============
G E R M A N Y
=============

GIGABELL: Files for Insolvency
------------------------------
Financial Times reported yesterday that shares in Gigabell, the
cash-strapped German telecommunications and Internet company that
filed for insolvency, shed two-thirds of their value when trading
in the stock reopened. The company was among several Neuer Markt
businesses identified as facing a cash shortage in a series of
"death lists" circulated this summer by newsletters and Web
sites.

In a statement released, Gigabell said it had applied for
insolvency "as a precaution" after delays in receiving a payment
from outside investors. Last month, it announced a DM48m ($21m,
E24.5m) injection from an unnamed group of investors after
conducting an extensive search for potential buyers said to have
included U.S. telecommunications group Viatel, Telecom Italia and
Tiscali.


=============
I R E L A N D
=============

FRUIT OF THE LOOM: Troubled Factory to Cut 300 Jobs
---------------------------------------------------
Yahoo Finance UK reported yesterday that 300 jobs are to be lost
at the troubled Fruit of the Loom factory in Donegal. The company
said the losses are due to continuing high production costs. Some
170 jobs will be lost in November; the remaining 130 will go in
March next year. Over 1,000 workers have lost their jobs at Fruit
of the Loom in the past 18 months. Four plants have been shut
down at Dungloe, Malin, Milford and Raphoe.


HARLAND & WOLFF: Faces an Unsettled 133 Million Pounds Claim
------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff may have won an important
lifeline with a $31m arbitration award this week in its contract
dispute with a Texas oil services company, but its troubles have
not gone away. Harland still faces an unsettled 133 million
pounds claim against the same company, Houston-based Global
Marine, for extra work on two drill ships for the offshore oil
sector, Financial Times reported yesterday.

With no big orders on its books, management next week enters
critical negotiations with the Confederation of Shipbuilding and
Engineering Union to agree a corporate restructuring, part of
which involves "substantial" redundancies. Senior directors now
insist that to remain in operation, the core shipbuilding
workforce will have to be scaled back "to bring overheads into
line with the available work rather than the available capacity".

One senior official said: "The real issue is whether you can run
a shipbuilding company like you run a construction company, and
the answer to that depends on whether there is access to key core
skills."


=========
I T A L Y
=========

ALITALIA: Reports Loss Before Exceptional Items of L342.5bn
-----------------------------------------------------------
Alitalia, the Italian national carrier, said that it was holding
talks with both Air France and Swissair with a view to forging an
alliance after the collapse earlier this year of its joint
venture with Dutch airline, KLM.

Alitalia is seeking a European partner so it will not be left out
of the continuing consolidation in the international airline
industry. British Airways, Europe's largest airline, is holding
merger talks with KLM, a move made possible by the earlier
collapse of the Dutch group's joint venture with Alitalia. SAir
Group, the parent of Swissair, is taking an 85 percent stake in
Sabena, the Belgian carrier, Financial Times reported yesterday.

Earlier this month, Alitalia reported a loss before exceptional
items of L342.5bn ($150.8m) in the first six months of this year.
The losses were around three times larger than the L109.4bn loss
registered in the first six months of 1999.


=========
S P A I N
=========

LA CELLOPHANE: UCB to Close Spanish Cellophane Factory
------------------------------------------------------
Reuters reported earlier this week that the Belgian chemicals and
pharmaceuticals firm UCB SA said it would close its Spanish
cellophane factory due to weak demand for the material, affecting
240 jobs. UCB said in a statement that it would close the factory
of its Spanish subsidiary, La Cellophane Espanola, at Burgos.

"This is the expected consequence of the reduction in the world
demand for cellophane for less specialized uses, which has proved
inevitable due to the competition from synthetic films," it said.
"The site at Burgos is the most vulnerable to additional
environmental requirements." UCB said costs related to closure
have already been covered by adequate provisions. It said that
despite this plant closure, cellophane remains a strategic
product for the group.


===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================

ACMI UK:  Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------
Company Name:   ACMI UK Ltd
Previous Name:   Roy Denton Ltd
Company No:   3432894
Com. Business:   Import Consultants
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Eileen T F Sale  IPno: 8738    
Firm Name:   Sale Smith & Co
Address:   Arclive House  Short Street
City Postcode:   Walsall  WS2 9EB


ACORN PRESERVATION:  Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------
Company Name:   Acorn Preservation Ltd
Company No:   3538872
Com. Business:   Damp Proofing Contractors
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Martin H Linton  IPno: 5998    
Firm Name:   Leigh & Co
Address:   Brentmead House  Britannia Road
City Postcode:   London  N12 9RU


ADAS CONSTRUCTION:  Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------------
Company Name:   Adas Construction Ltd
Company No:   3234280
Com. Business:   General Construction/Engineering
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Bernard Hoffman  IPno: 1593  Ian Yerrill  8924
Firm Name:   Gerald Edelman
Address:   Suite 105  Kent House  Station Road
City Postcode:   Ashford  TN23 1PP


BAYSWATER INTERNATIONAL:  Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------------------
Company Name:   Bayswater International Ltd
Company No:   IR
Com. Business:   
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Members
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   Peter H Beamish  IPno:   Simon M Radford  
Address:   Lord Cooutanche House  66-68 Esplanade
City Postcode:   St Helier  Jersey  


BRITISH NUCLEAR: Warns it May Scrap ?400m Plant
-----------------------------------------------
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) has reiterated its warning that
it will have to scrap its 400 million pounds commercial Mox
plutonium fuel plant if it does not start to secure new orders
soon. "If the plant does not secure new orders it will not be
economically viable to run and will not open," a spokesperson
said today. "SMP has already been more than three years in
gaining regulatory approval to operate. Clearly we need to get
the plant operating commercially in the future."

Last week BNFL reported a 337 million pounds pretax loss for
1999-2000 -- the worst in the company's history. The loss was
caused by a 411 million pounds charge to pay for a series of
errors, including the Mox plutonium fuel scandal at Sellafield,
where it was discovered that the falsification of data took
place. The scandal also resulted in the loss of contracts from
German and Japanese customers, Doras News reported yesterday.


BYCOM (UK) :  Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------
Company Name:   Bycom (UK) Ltd
Previous Name:   Contrast Refrigeration & Air Cond
Company No:   3428083
Com. Business:   Engineering/Install Services
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   David Wald  IPno: 3598    
Firm Name:   D Wald & Co
Address:   18 Sapcote Trading Centre  Dudden Hill Lane
City Postcode:   London  NW10 2DH


E T BAILEY:  Liquidation Proceedings
------------------------------------
Company Name:   E T Bailey Engineering Ltd
Company No:   980715
Com. Business:   Precision Engineers
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Carl D Faulds  IPno: 8767    
Firm Name:   Radford Sons & Co
Address:   12 Portland Street
City Postcode:   Southampton  SO14 7EB


GRAFTON SALES:  Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------------
Company Name:   Grafton Sales Corporation Ltd
Company No:   3371929
Com. Business:   International Traders
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Bhagu Mistry  IPno: 5762    
Firm Name:   B Mistry & Co
Address:   Pride House  Rectory Lane
City Postcode:   Edgware  HA8 7LG


H J COLEBORN:  Liquidation Proceedings
--------------------------------------
Company Name:   H J Coleborn & Sons Ltd
Company No:   IR
Com. Business:   
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Members
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   Brian O'Reilly  IPno:     
Firm Name:   Brian O'Reilly & Co
Address:   3 Brookside Terrace  Dundrum Road
City Postcode:   Dublin  14


HELIFLEX (UK) LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
------------------------------------------
Company Name:   Heliflex (UK) Ltd
Company No:   3360011
Com. Business:   Import/Distribution of Pipes
Appointed on:   24/08/00
Type:   Members
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   E V L Blackwell  IPno: 7484    
Firm Name:   BDO Stoy Hayward
Address:   Bowman House  2-10 Bridge Street
City Postcode:   Reading  RG1 2LU


MG ROVER: In Cash Talks
------------------------
MG Rover has admitted it is asking for extra cash from German
carmaker BMW. BMW sold the Longbridge-based carmaker in May to a
consortium headed by ex-Rover chief John Towers. But MG Rover has
denied reports it is seeking an extra 150 million pounds from BMW
for restructuring. MG Rover is reportedly asking for extra cash
to ensure it could meet production targets of 200,000 cars a
year, BBC News & The Sunday Times reported earlier this week.

Gordon Poynter, MG Rover spokesman, said that while the company
is in completion talks with BMW, which are expected to last until
the end of October, negotiations involved tying up loose ends.
Any extra cash from BMW would be a bonus. "The money is not
essential for the running of the business," Poynter said. A
separate report says MG Rover has signed an agreement with a
"major manufacturer" on the development of a replacement for the
Rover 25 and 45 models.

The firm will also hand its workforce, being cut to 5,500 from
more than 7,000 at the time of takeover, ownership of 35 percent
of the company's shares. The balance of the equity will be held
by dealers and Phoenix, the company Towers set up to buy Rover.


MARKS AND SPENCER: Plans to Restructure; Chief Executive Leaves
----------------------------------------------------------------
Marks and Spencer, the embattled British retailer, is planning to
announce a significant restructuring in November, which is likely
to involve further retrenchment internationally and possibly job
losses and store closures in the UK. News of the planned
restructuring emerged as the company announced a management
shake-up which sees the resignation of Peter Salsbury, chief
executive, along with the departure of two other board directors,
Clara Freeman and Guy McCracken. Last week Roger Holmes was
chosen to head M&S's UK retail division, Financial Times reported
yesterday. Executive chairman Luc Vandevelde will take on the
chief executive role for the time being.

Some analysts downgraded their forecasts following the trading
statement. Rowan Morgan, of Teather & Greenwood, who downgraded
his profit forecast for the retailer last week, said of the
update: "These are fairly disappointing figures and show that the
trend continues to deteriorate. You have to remember they are
compounding a poor performance last year.


MILLENIUM DOME: Legacy Near Buy of Insolvent Dome
-------------------------------------------------
London's Millennium Dome ran out of cash before receiving a 47
million-pound ($66 million) bailout this month, but a rejected
buyer may make a fresh bid for the troubled attraction, Reuters
reported earlier this week. Citing a secret financial report
compiled by accountants PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC), the Sunday
Times newspaper said the Dome was insolvent when it received the
grant from the government's funding body for Year 2000 projects.  
Its operators had no idea at that point what was owed and what
had already been paid. The PWC report dealt the final blow to a
possible deal between the Dome's operators, New Millennium
Experience Company (NMEC), and the Japanese investment bank
Nomura, which had said it would buy the government's millennium
showpiece for 105 million pounds at the end of this year.

But Sunday Business reported that the head of Legacy, a
consortium originally passed over for Nomura, had agreed a two-
week time-table to complete a 105 million pound purchase to match
Nomura's bid. Legacy, headed by property entrepreneur Robert
Bourne, who runs BourneEnd Properties, wants to build a
technology campus for entrepreneurs. It had previously bid around
125 million pounds. The Nomura deal collapsed after the bank said
it was shocked at the need for another 47 million-pound
injection. The Sunday Times said Nomura was never allowed to see
the report but had been told about its main elements. The company
thought those bare details alarming enough to withdraw its offer
to buy the facility.


MILLENIUM DOME: Fraud Inquiry at Britain's Troubled Dome
--------------------------------------------------------
Police are investigating fraud allegations at Britain's
beleaguered Millennium Dome just days after it was dumped by a
prospective buyer, the Financial Times said. The allegations
centre on one of the contractors who worked for the Dome's
operator, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC). The
inquiry centred on more than one of the several hundred
contracts. A consortium led by Japanese investment bank Nomura
abandoned its plans to buy the vast building at the end of the
year for 105 million pounds ($147 million), saying it had been
misled over which assets came with the troubled attraction.


MILLENIUM DOME:  Dome Directors Could be Sued Over its Debts
------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that the Board members of the
company which runs the Dome have been warned by accountants that
they risk disqualification as company directors if the business
goes bust. The 12 directors of the New Millennium Experience
Company were also told that under the 1986 Insolvency Act they
could be personally liable for the debts of the company if it was
found to have been involved in "wrongful trading".

The full extent of the risks they ran were spelled out by
Dipankar Ghosh, an insolvency practitioner with
PricewaterhouseCoopers, at a meeting on Aug 22 when the
accountants presented their findings on the state of the
business. According to Daily Telegraph, Mr Ghosh was asked to the
meeting by David James, the company doctor brought in to rescue
the Dome. Mr Ghosh said that the provisions of the Insolvency Act
meant that the NMEC board could have been held to have been
culpable if it carried on the business knowing it was insolvent
and without the prospect of new funds to balance the books.


STURMEY ARCHER: Bicycle Gear Maker To Close
-------------------------------------------
Ananova reported earlier this week that another piece of British
bicycle history has been lost with the announcement that a well-
known gear maker is to close. Three hundred workers at Sturmey
Archer in Nottingham were told the news with immediate effect.

The company, once part of the Raleigh group, which has also
suffered big job losses, has been on the same site in Triumph
Road, Radford, for 98 years. Bosses said they were trying to find
a new buyer but blamed the announcement on the failure of the
parent company, Lenark, to relocate them to a new site. A
skeleton staff only will work on a voluntary basis to complete
final orders.


WIRELESS GROUP: Reports First-Half Losses of 25.7 Million Pounds
----------------------------------------------------------------
Wireless Group, the UK radio group run by former Sun newspaper
editor Kelvin Mackenzie, reported first-half losses of 25.7
million pounds ($35.9m) in its first interim results since its
flotation in May. Mr Mackenzie, Wireless Group's chairman and
chief executive, said he was optimistic about the future as the
group announced that turnover had trebled in the first six months
of the year. Mr MacKenzie owns 7 percent of Wireless's shares.



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