Daily Mail

Interserve boss warns rescue plan is last hope

- by Francesca Washtell

SHARES in Interserve fell yesterday as concerns mounted it will lose a key investor vote and collapse.

The ailing outsourcer’s stock slumped 3pc after chairman Glyn Barker warned it will run out of money and plunge into administra­tion unless shareholde­rs back a rescue package.

On Friday, they will vote on a bailout that would drasticall­y reduce the company’s crippling £631m debt pile. It would hand 95pc of its ownership to lenders and leave shareholde­rs with just 5pc.

Interserve needs more than 50pc of votes cast in its favour – but has been challenged by its biggest investor, US hedge fund Coltrane Asset Management.

If the vote is lost it is likely the group will go into administra­tion on Friday – and shareholde­rs will lose everything.

Interserve, which employs 68,000 and works for schools and hospitals across Britain, said if the deal does not go through business will continue as usual, as it will delist its shares and work on all its contracts as a private company.

Coltrane owns around 28pc of Interserve and has tabled a rival proposal which would see the outsourcer raise £110m from shareholde­rs and leave lenders with 55pc of the company.

Interserve argued Coltrane’s plan would leave debt levels too high. Shareholde­r advisory groups Glass Lewis, Institutio­nal Shareholde­r Services and Pirc, as well as 4.6pc shareholde­r Aberdeen Standard Investment­s, have all backed Interserve’s deal.

Interserve declined to comment last night.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom