Interserve shares soar by 50pc on rescue hope

SHARES in struggling Interserve jumped more than 50pc after reports the contractor’s lenders will sweeten the terms of a £500m rescue deal.

The group, which is one of Britain’s biggest Government outsourcers, is in talks to double the proportion of stock in the company that would be owned by its existing investors from 2.5pc to 5pc, Sky News reported.

Interserve struck an agreement earlier this month that will see lenders take control by swapping debt for new stock, virtually wiping out current shareholders.

In an update to the stock market, Interserve said it would reveal the revised terms of the deal next week, but declined to comment further.

Shares closed up 52.4pc, or 5.38p, to 15.64p.

The announcement in November that it needed its second bailout in less than a year sparked fears it would collapse like its rival outsourcer, Carillion.

Interserve also said that its largest investor, Coltrane Asset Management, has proposed a rival restructuring plan that would include issuing £75m of new stock. It said it was ‘considering’ Coltrane’s proposal.