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     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

        Friday, November 10, 2000, Vol. 1, No. 132


                         Headlines


C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

KONSOLIDACNI BANKA:  Three Finalists Selected for Tender
VALCOVNY TRUB: Negotiates Joint Venture with Unnamed Italian Firm


F R A N C E

AIR OPEN: Placed into Liquidation
FENI: Minister Sells Loss-making Company to French company SCMM
TETE DANS:  Goes for Liquidation, Chairman to Resign


G E R M A N Y

FRAMFAB: Chief Replaced After Losses
GIGABELL AG: Loses Designated Sponsor
T-ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Reports 9-Months Loss of E14.4 Million
TEAMWORK:  Declares Insolvency
UNITED INTERNET: Posts 9-Months loss 8.8 Million Eurs


H U N G A R Y

RAIFFEISEN INVESTMENT: CEO Quits in Fraud Case


I R E L A N D

TRANSAER: Files for Bankruptcy, Due Restructuring Payments Unpaid


P O L A N D

DAEWOO POLAND:  Polish Officials Try to Save Car Plant
DAEWOO POLAND:  Daewoo Motor Collapses


S P A I N

ELECTRODOMESTICOS SOLAC:  Suspension of Payments Lifted
TELEFONICA MOVILES: Debt Seen Around EUR11 Billion


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

COATS VIYELLA: Up for Sale, Hit by Withdrawal
CORONAPRIME LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
HARCOL SWITCHGEAR: Liquidation Proceedings
HARGRAVE HOUSE: Liquidation Proceedings
INTERBUILD (UK): Liquidation Proceedings

MARDYKE SHIPPING: Liquidation Proceedings
MIC TEXTILES: Liquidation Proceedings
MILLENIUM DOME: Government Won't Demolish Dome
RCX TECHNOLOGY: Liquidation Proceedings
REVIEWMARK LTD: Liquidation Proceedings

TRILLIUM INVESTMENTS: Land Securities to Buy for 330 Mln Pounds
VSTU LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
WELSH WATER:  Non-profit Firm to Make Bid for Hyder Unit


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

KONSOLIDACNI BANKA:  Three Finalists Selected for Tender
--------------------------------------------------------
Czech A.M. reports this week that GE Capital, Goldman Sachs and
Lone Star have been selected as the three finalists in a tender
for the takeover of Kc 20 bln in non-performing loans from
Konsolidacni Banka. They include claims transferred from Komercni
Banka and Ceska Sporitelna.


VALCOVNY TRUB: Negotiates Joint Venture with Unnamed Italian Firm
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rolling mill Valcovny trub Chomutov (VT), one of the eight firms
of Z-Group, against whom Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka (CSOB)
lodged a bankruptcy petition in mid-October, is negotiating
collaboration and a joint venture with an unnamed major world
producer of steel from Italy, Ferromet's CEO Martin Plachy told
CTK last week. Z-Group firm Ferromet recently signed a contract
for the supplies of 4,000 tons of seamless tubes from VT worth
Kc86m for next year with an unnamed Italian firm. Valcovny trub
Chomutov is allowed to export up to 13,000 tons of seamless tubes
to European markets a year.


===========
F R A N C E
===========

AIR OPEN: Placed into Liquidation
------------------------------------
Air Open Sky, an airline that subcontracts for Air Liberte, has
been put into liquidation by a Bobigny court, and is to cease its
activity immediately. The company went into receivership on
September 30, but a spokesman told news agency AFP that no
acquirer has come forward, Les Echos & World Reporter reports
this week. Air Open Sky employs 65 people in Paris, Metz and
Brive.


FENI: Minister Sells Loss-making Company to French company SCMM
---------------------------------------------------------------
World News Connection reports this weekend in Paris the Minister
of Economics, Borko Andreev, finalized the agreement for sale of
the loss-making company Feni to the French company SCMM.
According to the agreement, the French-German investor will have
to pay $2 million for the firm's stocks and an additional
$250,000 for the transitional reserve in order to keep all the
employees in their jobs. The buyer is obliged to invest an
additional $36 million in the following three years and to pay
$22 for each 1 MW spent electric power. The Macedonian government
sold Feni without its debts of approximately $80 million.

The debt was transferred to its loss-making sector "Fenimak,"
which was liquidated a year ago. The World Bank will consider the
"Feni" case solved when the money is transferred to the account,
additional guarantees for the investments are given and the
stocks are transferred to the new owner. The Minister of Finance
asked for extension of the agreement in order to get the
signatures of the Minister of Economics, Borko Andreev, and the
Director of the French company, with which the sale of "Feni"
will become valid.


TETE DANS:  Goes for Liquidation, Chairman to Resign
---------------------------------------------------
La Tribune & World Reporter reports this week that Tete dans le
Nuages, the French interactive amusement centre operator, expects
to appoint a new chairman following the resignation of chairman
Philippe Gimond. The new extraordinary general assembly is also
expected to approve proposals from Verneuil Participation. The
commercial court has the final report of the liquidator, Michel
Chavaux, to choose between two continuation recovery plans and
two plans involving a cessation of activity. A decision is
expected at the end of the month.


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

FRAMFAB: Chief Replaced After Losses
------------------------------------
Jonas Birgersson, the head of Swedish IT consultancy Framfab has
been replaced, the firm said on Tuesday amid a gloomy earnings
outlook. Agence France-Presse reports the Stockholm-based company
said Johan Wall had been appointed as Framfab's new chief
executive and that Birgersson had been downgraded to vice
chairman and put in charge of a new development project.

Framfab shares picked up 8.5 percent and were being traded at
around 25.5 kronor (2.5 dollars, 2.8 euros) shortly after the
announcement that Birgersson was being replaced. Framfab
announced on October 31 that it had lost money in the first nine
months and would end up the year in the red. Birgersson said, "I
take responsibility for not understanding the psychological
effects of the dotcom deaths in the U.S. and Sweden".


GIGABELL AG: Loses Designated Sponsor
-------------------------------------
Insolvent German Internet service provider Gigabell AG disclosed
on Tuesday that HSBC Trinkaus Burkhardt, a private German bank,
would no longer be its partner bank for dealings on Frankfurt's
Neuer Markt, where Gigabell is listed. Suddeutsche Zeitung &
World Reporter reports Gigabell management said that the bank has
ended its contract as of November 13. According to Germany's
stock market regulations, a company listed on the Neuer Markt
needs two partner banks, so-called designated sponsors. Gigabell
recently applied for insolvency proceedings.


T-ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Reports 9-Months Loss of E14.4 Million
--------------------------------------------------------------
Europe's largest Internet service provider, T-Online
International AG, said Wednesday it posted a loss for the first
nine months of the year, The Associated Press reports. The
company blamed a flat-rate billing plan for the losses. T-Online
said preliminary figures indicated it lost 14.4 million euros
($12.4 million) in the first nine months of 2000.

The news pushed T-Online shares down 2.24 percent in Frankfurt
trading. Unadjusted for the sale of T-Online's share in
Comdirect, an online brokerage, the company saw a loss of 53.5
million euros ($46 million) for the nine-month period. The report
said that T-Online was recently rocked when former chairman
Wolfgang Keuntje quit in August, apparently after a disagreement
with Deutsche Telekom chief executive Ron Sommer about how much
to pay for Britain-based Internet service provider Freeserve PLC.
The two companies were in partnership talks that did not pan out.


TEAMWORK:  Declares Insolvency
------------------------------
Die Welt & World Reporter reports Teamwork, the German
information management company, saw its shares fall by 8 percent
to 3.40 euros. Trading of the shares had begun again after the
shares were suspended following the company's declaration of
insolvency.


UNITED INTERNET: Posts 9-Months loss 8.8 Million Eurs
-----------------------------------------------------
AFX reports this week United Internet AG posted a nine-month loss
from ordinary operations of 8.8 mln eur for the nine months to
September. The figure includes adjustment for non-cash relevant
items concerning employee profit-sharing programs, at-equity
losses and goodwill amortization. In a direct comparison of the
consolidated figures for the same period last year without GMX,
earnings for the first nine months improved to a loss of 2.7 mln
eur from a loss of 5.0 mln, it said.


=============
H U N G A R Y
=============

RAIFFEISEN INVESTMENT: CEO Quits in Fraud Case
----------------------------------------------
The CEO of Raiffeisen Investment Fund Manager Rt resigned from
his position last month after an internal investigation revealed
financial misconduct at the company, the Business Journal learned
last week. Last Thursday, Raiffeisen board member Zoltan Radnoty
confirmed that Benedek Lorincz resigned on Oct. 17, following the
revelation that an employee of the fund manager had defrauded the
company of Ft 3 million ($9,560). While stressing that Lorincz
was not involved in the fraud, Radnoty said that as CEO of the
company Lorincz had to take full responsibility for the problem.
While executives at the company declined to disclose details of
the fraud, sources familiar with the case said it involved the
use of false invoices.

Budapest Business Journal noted that Radnoty said the fraud did
not involve clients' funds. "Our employees have no direct access
to the money, which is managed by the custodian of the fund, so
the stolen amount is missing from the company's own budget," he
said. Although no report has yet been filed with the police, the
company is considering taking legal action against the employee.
Radnoty said the company expected to receive compensation. Board
member Krisztina Horvath was named acting CEO until a permanent
replacement for Lorincz is placed.


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

TRANSAER: Files for Bankruptcy, Due Restructuring Payments Unpaid
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Irish Independent this week reports TransAer, the charter
airline founded by former Ryanair chief executive PJ McGoldrick,
went into liquidation ten days ago, with a loss of 298 Irish
jobs. Morgan Stanley Aircraft Finance (MSAF) noted that as of
October 1, 2000, Transaer is in arrears, along with four other
lessees. In January 2000, MASF reached an agreement with TransAer
to defer $1.4 million of rental and maintenance obligations.
Repayment of the rental arrears plus interest was scheduled to be
made over a five-week period beginning on June 16, 2000.

Repayment of the maintenance reserves arrears plus interest was
scheduled to be made in three monthly installments beginning on
June 1, 2000. As of October 1, 2000, all of these restructuring
payments were due but unpaid. MASF held security deposits of $1.0
million against TransAer's deferred arrears. In addition, MASF
held maintenance reserves of $3.8million. The two aircraft on
lease to the lessee, both A320-200s, represented 3.1 percent of
the portfolio by appraised value as of November 30, 1999.
TransAer filed for bankruptcy on October 20, 2000.


===========
P O L A N D
===========

DAEWOO POLAND:  Polish Officials Try to Save Car Plant
------------------------------------------------------
A Polish government delegation went to South Korea Monday to
rescue Daewoo Motor Co.'s troubled Polish factories. The
delegation, led by Deputy Economy Minister Edward Nowak, met
Daewoo Motor's new chairman Lee Jong-Dae to discuss the fate of
the Polish units. Nowak, who arrived Sunday, is to meet the chief
of Daewoo Motor's key creditor, Korea Development Bank, later
Monday and South Korean government officials Tuesday and
Wednesday. "His four-day mission is to keep the Daewoo Motor
plants running in Poland," a Polish embassy official told Agence
France Presse.

The delegation intends to ask creditors to reschedule the debt of
Daewoo Motor's Polish factories and provide new credits to ensure
investment commitments are met. "We want to know how the Korean
authorities are engaged in the restructuring of Daewoo, and
whether the group is capable of fulfilling its obligations
towards Poland," Nowak said. It is reported that the Polish
government has recently offered to provide guarantees for the
loans.

After Polish sales plunged by one-third in the first nine months
of this year, Daewoo Motor was forced to shut down its main FSO
plant in Warsaw for the first three weeks of November to cut
costs and stocks. Daewoo Motor has proposed a cut in production
or manpower at the factories. The company employs some 15,000
workers in Poland, but according to the Polish government some
55,000 people are dependent on its operations. Economic officials
have warned the country's No. 2 carmaker would be liquidated if
its union rejects job cuts.


DAEWOO POLAND:  Daewoo Motor Collapses
--------------------------------------
Agence France Presse noted yesterday that Directors of factories
in Poland owned by Daewoo remained confident on Wednesday despite
news that the South Korean company had been forced into
bankruptcy. "The announcement of the bankruptcy in Seoul doesn't
have any impact, neither legal nor economic, on our company in
Poland," said Krystyna Danilczyk, the spokeswoman for Daewoo's
largest factory in Poland. Creditor banks on Wednesday declared
Daewoo Motor Co. bankrupt after unions rejected job cuts and the
company could not make payments of USD 39 million (EUR 45.4
million) on its USD-10-billion debt.

Danilczyk said the Daewoo-FSO plant in Warsaw would resume
production after a three-week shutdown on November 20 as
previously planned. But the bankruptcy of Daewoo Motor Co. is
likely to raise uncertainty about the future of the Polish
operations as well as they are dependent on delivery of
components from South Korea. Danilczyk said Daewoo-FSO had enough
components in stock to resume production, and the initial news
from a high-level Polish government delegation visiting Seoul
regarding continued supply of components was good.


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

ELECTRODOMESTICOS SOLAC:  Suspension of Payments Lifted
-------------------------------------------------------
The creditors of Spanish domestic appliance manufacturer
Electrodomesticos Solac last week approved an arrangement that
would allow the suspension of payments, currently imposed on the
company, to be lifted. Solac, which recently reached a
distribution agreement with Cegasa, has been insolvent since
March 1999. Under the terms of the agreement, 70 percent of
Solac's debts will be cancelled and the remainder will be paid
over a seven-year period. There will be a two-year grace period,
Expansion & World Reporter reports.


TELEFONICA MOVILES: Debt Seen Around EUR11 Billion
--------------------------------------------------
Dow Jones Newswires reports that Telefonica Moviles, the cellular
unit of Telefonica SA (TEF) won't be able to fund its pan-
European expansion through the IPO alone and will have to funnel
revenues into paying off nearly EUR11 billion of debt, sources
close to the operation said Monday. Moviles' debt will reach
around EUR11 billion, and the company still has expansion plans
in Switzerland, Sweden, France and possibly Poland. Telefonica
said it has already paid around EUR4.2 billion for its licenses
in Austria, Germany and Italy. The company originally intended to
use the IPO proceeds to pay a EUR8 billion loan.


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

COATS VIYELLA: Up for Sale, Hit by Withdrawal
---------------------------------------------
The Times said yesterday that Li & Fung, the Hong Kong trading
company, has pulled out of talks to purchase Coats Viyella's
clothing manufacturing businesses. The Hong Kong company had been
one of the main contenders to acquire a number of Coats Viyella's
factories, including its Marks & Spencer contract operation,
which is one of the troubled retailer's largest lingerie
suppliers. Li & Fung's withdrawal comes a day after M&S partly
blamed Coats Viyella, along with two other suppliers, for a sharp
deterioration in clothing and footwear sales last month.

A buyer for Coats Viyella's M&S-related businesses will need to
be found soon because the retailer is expected to award contracts
for its autumn/winter 2001 range in the next few weeks. Coats
Viyella said it would exit clothing manufacturing after a
collapse in earnings in the first half. It said that some 2,000
jobs have already been lost, while another 3,000 are still under
threat in the UK.


CORONAPRIME LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
-----------------------------------------
Company Name: Coronaprime Ltd
Company No: SC
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors
Liquidators: Maureen E Leslie IPno: 1186
Firm Name: HLB Kidsons
Address: 23 Queen Street
City Postcode: Edinburgh EH2 1JX


HARCOL SWITCHGEAR: Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------------
Company Name: Harcol Switchgear Co Ltd
Company No: 1417726
Com. Business: Manufacture Motor Control Elec Sys
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: David Moore IPno: 7510
Firm Name: Huntington Moore
Address: 1 Old Hall Street
City Postcode: Liverpool L3 9HF


HARGRAVE HOUSE: Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------------
Company Name: Hargrave House Ltd
Company No: 3483162
Com. Business: Nursing/Residential Home
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: Guy C Harrison IPno: 8001
Firm Name: Crane & Partners
Address: Rutland House 44 Masons Hill
City Postcode: Bromley BR2 9EQ


INTERBUILD (UK): Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------------
Company Name: Interbuild (UK) Ltd
Company No: 3224574
Com. Business: General Construction/Civil Engineer
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: P Charlton IPno: 5838 T A Askham 7905
Firm Name: Mazars Neville Russell
Address: Mazars House Geldered Road Gildersome
City Postcode: Leeds LS27 7JN


MARDYKE SHIPPING: Liquidation Proceedings
------------------------------------------
Company Name: Mardyke Shipping & Chartering Ltd
Company No: 1714776
Com. Business: Shipping Agents
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: David Hill IPno: 6904 Peter W Engel 8103
Firm Name: Solomon Hare
Address: Riverside House 31 Cathedral Road
City Postcode: Cardiff CF11 9HB


MIC TEXTILES: Liquidation Proceedings
--------------------------------------
Company Name: Mic Textiles (International) Ltd
Company No: SC
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors
Liquidators: Kenneth A Ross IPno: 5210
Firm Name: Kenneth A Ross & Sharkey
Address: 375 West George Street
City Postcode: Glasgow G2 4LH


MILLENIUM DOME: Government Won't Demolish Dome
----------------------------------------------
The government has denied that it will bulldoze London's
Millennium Dome to the ground just a year after it opened,
Reuters reports this week. "The story is wrong," Prime Minister
Tony Blair's official spokesman said of a front page report in
the Daily Express newspaper that the Dome would be flattened in
the new year. The spokesman also denied that Lord Falconer,
Cabinet Office minister and a close personal friend of Blair,
would be removed because of his handling of the project. "There
are no plans for a reshuffle this week," he told reporters.

Ministers are braced for a report on the Dome from independent
watchdog the National Audit Office on Thursday. The report is
expected to slate the project's financial management which
Conservatives argue is ultimately the government's
responsibility. The Dome's lower-than-forecast visitor numbers
and repeated bailouts to keep it open until the end of the year
have proved a financial drain and political headache for the
government. A new prospective bidder, Legacy Plc, headed by
entrepreneur Robert Bourne, wants to turn the Dome into a
business park. But sources close to the talks say negotiations
with the government have also hit trouble.


RCX TECHNOLOGY: Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------------
Company Name: RCX Technology Ltd
Previous Name: Boomexit Ltd
Company No: 2585352
Com. Business: Other Services
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: J J Schapira IPno: 5784
Firm Name: Fisher Curtis
Address: 1 Great Cumberland Place
City Postcode: London W1H 7LW


REVIEWMARK LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------------
Company Name: Reviewmark Ltd
Company No: 2955656
Com. Business: Property Developers
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: Michael J Moore IPno: 1168 Neil A Brackenbury 7418
Firm Name: Kroll Buchler Phillips
Address: 1 City Square
City Postcode: Leeds LS1 2ES


TRILLIUM INVESTMENTS: Land Securities to Buy for 330 Mln Pounds
---------------------------------------------------------------
Land Securities Plc, Europe's largest property company, will buy
Trillium Investments GP Ltd. for 330 million pounds ($478
million) in cash, stock and debt, Bloomberg reported last week.
Land Securities has agreed to pay 160 million pounds in cash and
680,000 shares for the property outsourcing business. The company
will assume about 165 million pounds of Trillium's debt. "It will
enable our customers to focus on their core business and
outsource some of their non-core activity," Land Securities Chief
Executive Ian Henderson said in an interview. It has been working
with Trillium this year on two joint venture bids.

Trillium provides property services. Its main contract is running
PRIME, the government Department of Social Services' 16- million-
square-foot occupational estate, until 2018. Property occupiers
are more often delegating responsibility for their own
accommodation, Manish Chande, Trillium co-founder and chief
executive, said in an interview. Land Securities expects to
complete the Trillium acquisition by early December. Schroder
Salomon Smith Barney and Cazenove & Co. are advising Land on the
purchase while Goldman, Sachs & Co. is advising Trillium,
Bloomberg said.


VSTU LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name: VSTU (Voluntary Sector Train Unit) Ltd
Previous Name: Cleveland Voluntary Sector Training
Company No:
Com. Business:
Appointed on: 05/10/00
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: John H Madden IPno: 7858
Firm Name: John B Taylor & Co
Address: 8 High Street Yarm
City Postcode: Stockton-on-Tees TS15 9AE


WELSH WATER:  Non-profit Firm to Make Bid for Hyder Unit
--------------------------------------------------------
A non-profit making company was expected to launch an agreed bid
for Hyder's Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) operations worth 1.8 billion
pounds, Reuters noted last week. It said Glas Cymru was making
its second attempt to keep the water utility in Welsh hands after
an offer in the summer to buy Welsh Water collapsed as a bid
battle raged for Hyder between Western Power Distribution and
Japanese bank Nomura.

Wales-based water and power company Hyder in August had around
1.8 billion pounds in net debt. Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) has been
caught up in a battle over an outsourcing arrangement. WPD agreed
to outsource Hyder's Welsh Water operations to United Utilities
earlier this year as part of a takeover deal. But Britain's
Severn Trent, a regional water company, argued that there should
have been an open tender process for the Welsh Water contract.
The report said it was understood that little or no cash would
change hands in the purchase, with the price reflecting the
acquisition of 1.8 billion pounds of water company debts, mostly
in the form of long-term bonds.



S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

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