Struggling contractor in bid to secure rescue deal

AGOVERNMENT contractor with offices in Clevedon and Almondsbury is facing administration.

Interserve, which is behind the improvement works on the M5, is in last-ditch talks with shareholders to agree a rescue deal that would see 95 per cent of the company’s equity passed to lenders.

The outsourcing giant was facing a crunch vote on the deal yesterday.

But one of Interserve’s biggest shareholders – US hedge fund Coltrane – is holding off for a better offer, according to the Guardian.

The contractor will need more than 50 per cent of the vote to secure the rescue deal.

If shareholders vote against the plan, Interserve is likely to enter into pre-pack administration, putting jobs and contracts in Bristol at risk.

The administration process would let the contractor sell off parts of the business, or the whole company, without impacting on operations – unlike rival Carillion which collapsed in spectacular fashion in 2018.

However, officials at the Cabinet Office told the Guardian that there would be no disruption to public services even if Interserve entered into administration.

Only last month the outsourcing giant agreed a rescue deal with its creditors to reduce its debt to £275 million.

The company, which employs 20 people in Bristol, has been under scrutiny since Carillion’s collapse last year.

Interserve has hundreds of UK contracts, including serving meals in schools and cleaning hospitals.

It has revenues of £3.7billion and a workforce of 75,000 people worldwide.