/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/000804.mbx 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, August 4, 2000, Vol. 1, No. 63 Headlines C Z E C H R E P U B L I C CESKE RADIOKOMUNIKACE: More Firms Interested in No. 2 Telecom KONSOLIDACNI BANKA: Troubled Steelworks Seeks Initial Kc 750 mln INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: CA IB Securities Chosen to Evaluate Assets G E R M A N Y HUTSCHENREUTHER: Waterford Buys German Porcelain I T A L Y FIUGGI COMMUNE: Spa for Sale Following Continuing Capital Deficit R U S S I A CHELYABINSK TRACTOR: Receivers Make Deal to Bail Out Ailing Firm CHELYABINSK TRACTOR: No Bidders Show Interest in Bankrupt Firm CHELYABINSK TRACTOR: Analysts Concerned Over Rescue Plan S L O V A K I A (S L O V A K R E P U B L I C) DEVA: Leonidas to Acquire Ailing Slovakian Sweets Firm IRB BANK: Finance Ministry Plans Talks on Sale in September U N I T E D K I N G D O M ASHTON INVESTMENTS & FINANCE LTD: Liquidation proceedings BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Posts ?13.4 Million Pre-tax Loss CARDOWE DEVELOPMENTS LTD: Liquidation proceedings CLICKMANGO.COM: Internet Beauty Products Retailer Up for Sale CLICKMANGO: Internet Site to Wind Up CLIMATE INTERNATIONAL TRADING LTD: Liquidation proceedings CRICKMER LTD: Liquidation proceedings DESIGN DIRECT LTD: Liquidation proceedings DESMONDFORD LTD: Liquidation proceedings DIGITEK TECHNOLOGY LTD: Liquidation proceedings EDWARD EWING CONSTRUCTION LTD: Liquidation proceedings ESSEX SPEDITION LTD: Liquidation proceedings GEORGE STREET MILLS LTD: Liquidation proceedings GRAHAM CHEADLE POWER PRODUCTS LTD: Liquidation proceedings HALIBUT LTD: Liquidation proceedings HYDER: Withdraws Endorsement Nomura Takeover Offer HYDER: Nomura Weighs Options After Bid is Trumped HYDER: UK Removes Bid Barrier HYDER: Pressure for Nomura to Raise Offer INTERAKTIVE LTD: Liquidation proceedings JIMPRO FRESH (UK) LTD: Liquidation proceedings KINGDOM LEISURE LTD: Liquidation proceedings NFF: Posts ?6.2 Million Full-year Pre-tax Loss NATUREPRIDE LTD: Liquidation proceedings NORTHGATE INFORMATION: Slips into Red after Radical Restructure NORRAL LOGISTICS LTD: Liquidation proceedings QCS (EDINBURGH) LTD: Liquidation proceedings R L DANIELS LTD: Liquidation proceedings R L WENSLEY & CO LTD: Liquidation proceedings REALTIME RT LTD: Liquidation proceedings STANDARD CHARTERED: Shares Tumble as 6,000 Job Cuts Loom STANDARD CHARTERED: Plans Restructuring and Job Cuts TASKLAKE LTD: Liquidation proceedings W & M GIBSON LTD: Liquidation proceedings WAKEFIELD TRINITY: Financially Troubled Club Sacks Chief ZAMANIS TOO LTD: Liquidation proceedings =========================== C Z E C H R E P U B L I C ============================ CESKE RADIOKOMUNIKACE: More Firms Interested in No. 2 Telecom ------------------ Czech AM August 2, 2000 Vivendi of France, Telecom Italia and U.S.-based investment funds Emerging Markets Partnership and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst are reportedly the other four that expressed preliminary interest in the privatization of the state's 51% majority in Ceske Radiokomunikace, according to Czech dailies. Tele Danmark and Deutsche Telekom had previously announced their interest in the Czech Republic's number two telecom. Vivendi is currently cooperating with CEZ in the Czech utility's telecom division. The National Property Fund and the Finance Ministry are to announce the deadline for bids in the coming weeks. KONSOLIDACNI BANKA: Troubled Steelworks Seeks Initial Kc 750 mln ----------------------- Czech AM August 2, 2000 Nova Hut will discuss the initial Kc 750 mln of a possible Kc 2.3 bln Konsolidacn¡ Banka (KoB) loan package with KoB today, Hospodarske Noviny reports. Troubles at the steelworks have worsened due to the failure of the IFC, a World Bank subsidiary, to grant the final payment of a promised loan. The IFC conditions the payment to the start of privatization talks but the Finance Ministry does not consider Swiss firm Duferco - the only party to express interest in NH - a strong enough partner, grinding the NH privatization process to a halt. INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: CA IB Securities Chosen to Evaluate Assets ---------------------- Prague Business Journal July 31, 2000 Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka and the forced administrator of failed Investicni a Postovni Banka have decided who will help them evaluate over Kc 300 billion in assets that CSOB bought shortly after IPB's collapse on June 16. CSOB is preparing to sign a contract with CA IB Securities, the investment banking arm of Bank Austria Creditanstalt. IPB forced administrator Petr Stanek meanwhile has selected HSBC, the Prague Business Journal learned from a number of sources. Neither CSOB nor Stanek would divulge their selections, but sources close to both deals confirmed the names. CSOB bought IPB's assets from the forced administrator, for a price that has yet to be determined, three days after the bank takeover. Each side should hire an evaluator to come up with a price for the assets before March 19, 2001. The forced administrator will then determine the final price that CSOB is going to have to pay, based on those two prices. If there is a big difference between the two evaluations, a third firm will be hired to come up with a compromise price. Sources close to CSOB have already said that the bank, owned by Belgian KBC Group, will not pay more than Kc 16 billion for the assets, the total size of which is not yet known. Many holdings, including major companies like insurer IPB Pojistovna, Prima TV license holder FTV Premiera, and oil-processing plant Setuza, still haven't been secured. IPB's loan book has also been rapidly deteriorating. A minimum price of Kc 3 billion was agreed to in the purchase contract, following pressure from Stanek, whose authority was questioned last week by minority shareholders in companies within the IPB group and by the Restitution Investment Fund, managed by an IPB subsidiary. RIF filed a lawsuit arguing that the sale of IPB assets to CSOB was improper because it took place without a vote by shareholders, which include RIF. Stanek worked through the London offices of law firm Norton Rose, which represented Czech National Bank in its move against IPB, to find the evaluator. British banking giant HSBC was selected from a final list of three, which also included a major investment bank as well as an auditing firm, according to a source close to HSBC. The bank apparently will also get help from auditors from Deloitte & Touche. HSBC also worked on the country's forced administration of Agrobanka in 1996, the largest bank collapse before the IPB intervention. CSOB picked CA IB Securities which, along with Schroders, worked on CSOB's own privatization as the government's adviser. It was also chosen by Goldman Sachs to help that bank with advisory work on the privatization of Komercni Banka. "We still have enough people for the IPB job because it will also be done by people in Prague, London and Vienna," said a source close to CA IB. CA IB's parent company, Bank Austria Creditanstalt, is in talks that will fold it into German banking giant HypoVereinsbank. HSBC also sat across the table from CA IB in the $220 million sale of Czech On Line, completed last month. Investment bankers agree that doing an excavation of, and putting a price tag on, the assets of what was once the country's fastest-growing financial empire is an interesting job. As a CA IB source put it: "It's going to be a delicatessen, with all those options contracts and so on." ============= G E R M A N Y ============= HUTSCHENREUTHER: Waterford Buys German Porcelain ------------------------ Irish Independent August 2, 2000 Waterford Wedgwood will emerge as the dominant force in the German porcelain market following a deal which will see it acquire the prestige Hutschenreuther brands from the liquidator of the parent firm Winterling. The group announced yesterday the agreement to buy the German porcelain tableware and giftware group. It is understood that Waterford Wedgwood is acquiring the brands of the German firm and will not be picking up any of its manufacturing facilities. The deal is being done through Waterford's German subsidiary Rosenthal and the group says its combined brands will now dominate Germany's fine porcelain market. Hutschenreuther is based in the Bavarian town of Selb - the home town of Rosenthal. A spokesman for Waterford Wedgwood declined to say how much it is paying for the acquisition. Speaking at this year's Waterford Wedgwood agm, chairman Dr AJF O'Reilly said he was an admirer of the Hutschenreuther, brands added the group was not interested in picking up additional manufacturing capacity. Hutschenreuther porcelain will by made at Rosenthal's plants. A statement issued by the German liquidator's office yesterday said that in recent months intense discussions had taken place between insolvency trustees of Winterling and the management of Rosenthal Porzellan AG. As part of an attempt to rescue the Winterling business, the liquidator planned to transfer the Hutschenreuther business to Rosenthal and this has now been agreed, the statement said. Apart from the Hutschenreuther deal the group has bought a 14pc stake in the British ceramics firm Royal Doulton, which is going through a difficult period. It remains unclear whether Waterford Wedgwood will make an outright bid for Royal Doulton - the UK group's management has already said it would not welcome such a move. Waterford Wedgwood is on the look-out for opportunities in other luxury goods product lines. ========= I T A L Y ========= FIUGGI COMMUNE: Spa for Sale Following Continuing Capital Deficit ------------------------------------- WORLD REPORTER(TM) July 30,2000 Fiuggi Commune sells (Il Comune di Fiuggi liquida la societa di gestione delle terme). The Fiuggi commune council in Italy has approved the sale of its thermal baths and health spas management company. The mayor, Virgio Bonanni will appoint the liquidator on Monday. The decision was approved although Fiuggi per Fiuggi and the centre- right voted against the move. The decision was made due to the company's difficult financial situation, with a deficit of L84bn, and the Commune's inability to re-capitalise the company. The company being sold will continue to operate as a company until the creation of a new SpA. =========== R U S S I A =========== CHELYABINSK TRACTOR: Receivers Make Deal to Bail Out Ailing Firm --------------------------------------- The Moscow Times August 3, 2000 After 18 months of unsuccessful efforts to restructure or sell a bankrupt Ural Mountains tractor plant, the receivers have come up with their 12th scheme to bail out the ailing giant which, experts say, looks like an insider deal. The Chelyabinsk Tractor Works, or ChTZ, a 67-year-old company that was once one of Europe's largest heavy machinery manufacturers, plans to transfer most of its assets to a newly created company and to pay off its debts with the proceeds of two share floatations. Even government officials admit that the scheme is skating on thin legal ice. Only 12 years ago, the works, located 1,700 kilometers east of Moscow, employed 70,000 people and had an annual output of 32,000 powerful tractors for fixing roads, mining, pipe-laying, agriculture and forestry. Its major customers are natural gas monopoly Gazprom and national power grid Unified Energy Systems. But the plant's production lines almost rolled to a halt in February 1998 when it was put under arbitration management over a debt of 2.28 billion rubles, or $377 million at the time. The bankruptcy term expired last September and the works went to the liquidation stage of the bankruptcy process. But until this summer, efforts by the works management and Chelyabinsk regional administration, which prepared 11 different restructuring or sale schemes, came to nothing. CHELYABINSK TRACTOR: No Bidders Show Interest in Bankrupt Firm ------------------------------------ The Moscow Times August 3, 2000 One scheme resulted in the works being offered for sale in February 1999 for 3 billion rubles, or about $130 million at the exchange rate of the time. But no bidders applied. Another plan to sell off parts of the works later was also unsuccessful. However, Georgy Tal, head of the Federal Bankruptcy Service, said in an interview that the works are of too great national significance to be destroyed by liquidation. "This enterprise is very significant for Russia," Tal said. "We couldn't just sell it ... when it has a lot of debts and all its accounts are blocked. It could have been sold for peanuts, just like a pile of scrap metal." The latest scheme to restore the works to financial health has been put forward by the receiver, Valery Platonov, and approved by Tal's service, several other federal ministries and the Chelyabinsk administration. Under the scheme, a new enterprise, Uraltrak Tractor Works was created last month. The new company has a 100,000 ruble capital equally financed by four founders: the Chelyabinsk administration (to which ChTZ owes 145 million rubles or $5.21 million); the bankrupted works itself; and two defense enterprises, the Ural Wagon Works of Nizhny Tagil and the Powerful Tractor Works. When the works was privatized in 1992, it had a charter capital of 1.1 billion rubles (almost $40 million) consisting of 2,763,145 preferred and 8,289,435 ordinary shares with a par value of 100 rubles each. The new company held a shareholders meeting Tuesday and voted to issue a share floatation worth 2 billion rubles with a nominal value per share of 1 ruble. The issue prospect will be registered within three months and after that ChTZ will start shifting assets to the new company. Creditors are allowing the receiver to hand over up to 80 percent of the old works' property, according to company officials. A final inventory of the property and a schedule for the share issue will be defined by a creditors' committee by the end of August. The shares will be placed in one to one and a half years, Valery Kozheurov, deputy receiver at the works, said in remarks reported by Prime-Tass on Wednesday. The share issue is planned to be sold by closed subscription and the proceeds will be used to pay off the ChTZ's debts, which total about 2 billion rubles, or $72 million at the current exchange rate. Kozheurov said in a telephone interview from Chelyabinsk that creditors and the Defense Ministry will be offered shares. The management of the new company will essentially stay the same: two top receivers will become directors of the board as will a deputy receiver, the general manager and his deputy. CHELYABINSK TRACTOR: Analysts Concerned Over Rescue Plan ------------------------------------------ The Moscow Times August 3, 2000 Analysts said they found it hard to comment on the rescue scheme for ChTZ since shares in the works have not been traded on stock markets for more than two years. However, they pointed out some points of concern in the restructure plan: The presence of two receivers of the old works on the board and in the management of the newly created one; A share flotation taken without the approval of the shareholders' meeting; Possible violation of the rights of external shareholders by what could turn out to be an insider deal organized in favor of the management and administration. "I think the rights of external shareholders may be violated in this scheme," said one analyst who did not want to be named. "But I can't comment further because the structure of shareholders at the works is not clear." Current shareholding in ChTZ is "secret information," deputy receiver Kozheurov said. In 1997, the works had 68,110 shareholders. Its major shareholders included ZAO Uraltrak with 11 percent and Intelsa with 8 percent. The controlling package of voting shares belonged to a group of Chelyabinsk companies lead by Skif-K. Under the liquidation, shares of major shareholders were confiscated by a decision of the creditors committee, Kozheurov said in the telephone interview from Chelyabinsk. He would not say who owns those shares now. Analysts believe that 10 percent to 15 percent of ChTZ's shares belong to external shareholders. Any company that has secret shareholders would never be allowed near a regulated equity or debt market in the United States or Western Europe, said Paul Backer, a U.S. legal expert who has been involved in several commercial projects in Russia. "Any refinancing or restructuring scheme involving secret shareholders suffers the presumption of being illegitimate and hopelessly tainted by self-dealing," said Backer, who is also CEO of Iconoclast, a U.S. wireless Internet startup. "The scheme seems tailored to the interests of the region and the works' management," said an industry analyst at a leading Russian brokerage who did not want to be named. "Two of these, or all three of them f ZAO Uraltrak, Intelsa and Skif-K f are, seemingly, shell companies controlled by ChTZ management." The analyst said that if the regional administration is a shareholder in both Ural Wagon Works, which makes tanks and railway cars, and the Works of Powerful Tractors, it brings total management-administration holding in the new company to about 75 percent. ================================================ S L O V A K I A (S L O V A K R E P U B L I C) ================================================ DEVA: Leonidas to Acquire Ailing Slovakian Sweets Firm -------------------- Central Europe & Agence France Presse August 1, 2000 Belgian chocolate maker Leonidas is to buy the Slovakian sweets firm Deva for 2.5 million euros (2.3 million dollars), the Slovakian agency Tasr reported Tuesday. Leonidas would re-launch the company's production under its own name after the Slovakian firm based in eastern Trebisov suspended production and declared bankruptcy last April, owing seven million euros. Leonidas had already paid one-half of the purchase price, and will settle the rest within 30 days, Tasr said. IRB BANK: Finance Ministry Plans Talks on Sale in September ------------------- Central Europe & Reuters August 2, 2000 Slovakia said on Wednesday it expects final talks on the sale of its majority stake in IRB bank to begin by the end of September. The sale of IRB, if successful, would be among the first in the series of bank privatization planned by the Slovak government for this year and 2001. The finance ministry has offered for sale its 66 percent stake in the bank, and the state privatization agency NPF plans to sell its four percent-stake, all to one investor, Frantisek Palko, director of the ministry's Banking and Insurance Department, told Reuters. "These two (stakes) would go together. Insurer Slovenska Poistovna has a 22 percent stake, which in the end might be sold separately," Palko said. "If everything goes well, the ministry expects to start talks with serious bidders by the end of September," he said. A tender for the sale of the state's stake was declared on June 21. The ministry has said it plans to complete the IRB sale by the end of this year. Palko, who is also the chairman of state-owned Slovenska Poistovna's (SP) supervisory board, said SP, a state venture which is independent from the state in legal terms, had not yet decided what to do with its 22-percent IRB stake. "It's up to SP, but I can say that if the bids for the (finance ministry and NPF) stakes look interesting, the supervisory board will vote for SP to join the ministry in the sale," he said, adding that a potential investor might then be able to buy an around 92 percent stake in the bank. The remaining eight percent of IRB shares are in the hands of individual shareholders. Bratislava-based IRB, once Slovakia's third largest bank, spent several years under central bank forced administration, due to deep financial troubles it fell into in the mid-1990s. During this time the government cleansed it of most of its classified loans. Current data on IRB's bad loans were not immediately available. The bank had assets of SKK 29.1 Billion ($630 Million) at the end of 1999. IRB currently employs around 1,000 people and has 55 branched throughout Slovakia. July 31 was a deadline for potential buyers to request for an information memorandum. Palko declined to reveal any names or the number of foreign bidders and only said that some of them had been from outside the European Union. Austrian bank BAWAG said in July it was interested in buying a stake. BAWAG failed to enter another Slovak bank, Polnobanka, earlier this year. Palko declined to say how much the state expected to net from the sale. "Of course, we have an estimate made by our advisor on the sale, Creditanstalt-Investmentbank, but it would be too early now to speak about it." "The ministry is now waiting for non-binding bids from the investors, who will then be allowed to do a due diligence in IRB before submitting their binding bids," Palko said. The sale of IRB, if successful, would be among the first in the series of bank privatization deals planned by the Slovak government for this year and the year 2001. Early in July, the government said it planned to sell off majority stakes in two of Slovakia's biggest banks, VUB and Slovenska Sporitelna, by June 2001. Smaller Banka Slovakia is expected to be sold off by the end of this year, as such as IRB. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== ASHTON INVESTMENTS & FINANCE LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Ashton Investments & Finance Ltd Company No: 2726897 Com. Business: Property Selling & Letting Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Christopher J Lamey IPno: 4480 Firm Name: C J Lamey & Co Address: Zealley House Greenhill Way City Postcode: Newton Abbot TQ12 3SB BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Posts ?13.4 Million Pre-tax Loss -------------------------------- The Times August 3, 2000 Software and computer services Baltimore Technologies made a ?13.4 million pre-tax loss for the three months to June 30 (?9 million loss). CARDOWE DEVELOPMENTS LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Cardowe Developments Ltd Previous Name: Majorvital Ltd Company No: 1733287 Com. Business: Civil Engineering Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Ian Bull IPno: 9007 Firm Name: Bull & Co Address: Rose House Poole Street Cavendish City Postcode: Sudbury CO10 8BD CLICKMANGO.COM: Internet Beauty Products Retailer Up for Sale -------------------------------- Yahoo August 2,2000 When designers erected an inflatable pink boardroom at Clickmango.com, they fretted about a possible puncture. But it was the company which deflated first. Clickmango.com, which raised ?3m ($4.5m) in eight days at the height of the UK's dotcom fever last year, has lost its means of support. The company, which sells natural beauty and health products, says it will cease trading in September because of low sales and an inability to raise further funding. Atlas Venture, the venture capital firm behind it, is refusing to put up any more money and the market for floating internet retail stocks has fallen dramatically. But while the founders struggle to find a possible trade buyer for its website, an offer for the boardroom, a giant, circular plastic structure which was raised in a day and is kept aloft by fish wire and constantly circulating hot air, has already come in. ACQ, the London-based architects who designed it, have been e- mailed by a woman in Japan who wants to buy it. Hal Currey, one of the firm's three principals, said: "She wanted to commission a similar one from us but then she heard about the problems Clickmango was having and asked whether she could buy theirs. I have no idea what it is worth." The boardroom, in Click-mango's trademark pink and green colours, was part of the start-up's drive to stand out from the dotcom crowd. Early design suggestions for the Clickmango offices in fashionable east London also included an lime green carpet astroturf and a reception counter with scoopfuls of sweets for visitors to munch. The ideas were rejected as too expensive. Whatever other criticisms are levelled at the site, no one could claim it overspent on fripperies. The company, which could not be reached on Wednesday, was believed to have secured its offices in London's East end at a knockdown rent. But sales were just ?2,000 a week, while overheads were ?100,000 a month. CLICKMANGO: Internet Site to Wind Up ------------------------ The Express & World Reporter August 1,2000 Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley was its figurehead, but no amount of glamour could shield Internet health and beauty company Clickmango.com from harsh reality this week. The e-retailer is winding up after three months because not enough people will fund it. Its founders blame the backlash against the dotcom sector. They say they will close while there is enough money to pay the creditors. Robert Norton, Clickmango co-founder, said: "We have been in discussions with strategic investors. There is a lot of interest but unfortunately it's difficult for many potential investors to move as quickly as we would like. "Rather than risk insolvency, we're closing the company down now while we have plenty of money left to meet all of our obligations and give our staff time to find new positions." The demise of Clickmango, one of the best known business-to- consumer Internet retailers, is the latest blow to e-commerce start-ups. Based in East London and employing 20 staff, it appeared to be in a promising position. It set a record for raising investment at the height of Internet frenzy, securing GBP3million in eight days from pitching the business plan to signing terms. Venture capitalist Atlas Venture was the lead investor, with additional funds from the family interests of Lord Rothschild. The two founders had impressive pedigrees. Toby Rowland, 30, is the son of the late tycoon Tiny Rowland and Norton, 27, is a former head of e-commerce for AOL UK. The company persuaded actress Joanna Lumley to be its figurehead. Her popularity generated Clickmango huge amounts of free publicity. One of the criticisms levelled at failed online fashion retailer Boo.com was that it spent millions of pounds on advertising. The Web was seen as the perfect retail channel for natural health sales because consumers would be able to research their purchases. An online community could also be established. So why has Clickmango failed? Robert Zegelaar, partner at Atlas Venture, blames the dramatic change in sentiment against dotcoms. He said: "I have never seen a climate change that fast. It has turned round 180 degrees." Zegelaar said that the company needed GBP10million to keep going until it broke even, in about two and a half years time. Atlas was prepared to put more money into the business if the founders could raise GBP5million to GBP7million from outside investors. He said: "They have spoken to dozens of other venture capitalists. They have not raised any more." Zegelaar defended his company's initial investment. "This type of decision was made in an environment that was extremely positive. It easily led to the assumption that the next time the company needed to raise money there would be more available. No one could have anticipated this." Second-round funding has dried up as share prices for UK quoted stocks such as Lastminute.com and Internet giants such as US book seller Amazon.com have slumped. E-commerce analyst Rebecca Ulph of Forrester Research said Clickmango faced tough competition in health and beauty from other Internet companies and businesses such as Boots or Tesco. "Clickmango was not different enough," she said. "There was not enough content. These are also products that are very easy to buy on the High Street." As for Clickmango's founders, their future looks bright even if their company does not. Zegelaar praised their responsible attitude and said: "We think they are very good. We would be happy to back them in another venture." CLIMATE INTERNATIONAL TRADING LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Climate International Trading Ltd Company No: 2814859 Com. Business: Metal Brokers Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Gordon A M Simmonds IPno: 5729 Firm Name: Simmonds & Co Address: Crown House 217 Higher Hillgate City Postcode: Stockport SK1 3RB CRICKMER LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Crickmer Ltd Company No: IR Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: Barry Caldwell IPno: Firm Name: Caldwell & Co Address: 135 Hillside City Postcode: Greystones DESIGN DIRECT LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Design Direct Ltd Company No: 2890834 Com. Business: Product Design Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: D B Coakley IPno: 6824 M P Riley Firm Name: BDO Stoy Hayward Address: Connaught House Alexandra Terrace City Postcode: Guildford GU1 3DA DESMONDFORD LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Desmondford Ltd Previous Name: Advanced Systems Y2K Co Ltd Company No: 3187188 Com. Business: Services to Computer Industry Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Salman Saud IPno: 6042 Firm Name: Rifsons Saud Address: 105-111 Euston Street City Postcode: London NW1 2EW DIGITEK TECHNOLOGY LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Digitek Technology Ltd Company No: 3747887 Com. Business: Videos/Faxes/Copiers Sales/Repairs Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Andreas G Kakouris IPno: 4691 Firm Name: Kakouris & Michaelides Address: 43 Blackstock Road City Postcode: London N4 2JF EDWARD EWING CONSTRUCTION LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Edward Ewing Construction Ltd Company No: SC145109 Com. Business: Property Construction Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Douglas B Jackson IPno: 5201 Firm Name: Moore Stephens Booth White Address: Allan House 25 Bothwell Street City Postcode: Glasgow G2 6NL ESSEX SPEDITION LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Essex Spedition Ltd Company No: 1091488 Com. Business: Freight Forwarders Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Mark Newman IPno: 8723 Firm Name: Smith & Williamson Address: The Meeting House Little Mount Sion City Postcode: Tunbridge Wells TN1 1YS GEORGE STREET MILLS LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: George Street Mills Ltd Previous Name: Demoaction Ltd Company No: 3380186 Com. Business: Carpet Manufacturer Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: William C Swindell IPno: 8100 Firm Name: Rogers & Co Address: Yorkshire House 7 South Lane City Postcode: Holmfirth HD7 1HN GRAHAM CHEADLE POWER PRODUCTS LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Graham Cheadle Power Products Ltd Company No: 3088734 Com. Business: Agents in Industrial Equipment Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Steven N Walker IPno: 7927 Firm Name: Walker Till Address: 6-8 Old Hall Road Gatley City Postcode: Cheadle SK8 4BE HALIBUT LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Halibut Ltd Company No: 3649414 Com. Business: Investment Co Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: Roger A Issacs IPno: 8966 Firm Name: Milsted Langdon Address: Winchester House Deane Gate Avenue City Postcode: Taunton TA1 2UH HYDER: Withdraws Endorsement Nomura Takeover Offer -------------------- REUTERS & YAHOO August 2,2000 Struggling Welsh utility withdrew its endorsement of a 495 million pound takeover offer from Japanese bank Nomura, after a rival suitor slapped a higher bid on the table. Hyder, whose board had unanimously backed Nomura's offer of 320 pence per share this week, advised shareholders to sit on the fence and do nothing, after U.S.-owned utility Western Power Distribution (WPD) trumped Nomura with an offer of 340p. Hyder's long-suffering shareholders clearly expected the bidding to scale new heights, pushing the share price beyond WPD's offer to 347p in afternoon trade, giving the debt-laden utility a market capitalisation of 537 million pounds. Hyder faces difficulties in servicing its net debt of about 1.8 billion pounds, but the bidders covet its low-risk assets. "Pending further clarification on these matters, the board of Hyder advises shareholders to take no action in respect of either offer for the time being," Hyder said in a statement. "A further announcement will be made in due course." Nomura, too, said on Wednesday it was considering its options -- though it may choose to wait for the outcome of a government review of aspects of WPD's bid before playing its next card. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is expected in days to give its verdict on WPD's offer, which would involve the contracting out of some Hyder water services to United Utilities Plc ,a move that could arouse competition concerns. WPD has said it is confident of meeting all regulatory requirements. United Utilities is a rival UK utility. "It could go either way," utilities analyst Philip Hollobone, of WestLB Panmure, told Reuters when asked if he thought Nomura would come up with a higher offer. "I would have thought... Nomura could well go higher if WPD were cleared (by the DTI)." Nomura started the bidding for Hyder in April with an offer of 260p per share but was soon trumped by WPD. Nomura won the Hyder board over with its second bid of 320p but the utility proved predictably fickle when WPD thumped 340p on the table. Hyder is liable to pay a break fee of just 4.95 million pounds to Nomura if it changes its allegiance. HYDER: Nomura Weighs Options After Bid is Trumped --------------------------- REUTERS & YAHOO August 2,2000 Japanese investment bank Nomura said on Wednesday it was considering its options after its bid for struggling Welsh utility Hyder was trumped by U.S.-owned utility Western Power Distribution (WPD). Nomura this week offered 320 pence per share or about 495 million pounds for the debt-laden power and water utility, but was trumped on Tuesday when WPD, owned by U.S. utilities PPL Corporation and Southern Company Inc , slapped a bid of 340p on the table. Shares in Hyder closed on Tuesday at 347p, giving it a market capitalisation of 537 million pounds and signalling that investors clearly expected the bidding war to continue. Hyder faces difficulties in servicing its net debt of about 1.8 billion pounds, but the bidders covet its low-risk assets. Hyder on Tuesday unanimously backed Nomura's bid though Hyder is liable to pay a break fee of just 4.95 million pounds to Nomura if it changes its allegiance. Nomura is viewed as having the edge over WPD because the U.S. bidder has yet to clear all regulatory hurdles in the UK. The government is due soon to give its verdict on the structure of WPD's offer, which would involve the contracting out of some of Hyder's water services to United Utilities Plc - a move that could arouse competition concerns. WPD has said it is confident of meeting all regulatory requirements. HYDER: UK Removes Bid Barrier ------------------------- FINANCIAL TIMES August 2,2000 Stephen Byers, UK Trade and Industry Secretary, has removed the last main regulatory obstacle to a rival ?526m ($789m) bid from Western Power Distribution for Hyder, the struggling Welsh water and electricity group. Mr Byers decided not to call for an investigation by the Competition Commission into WPD's plans for Hyder's water business. The verdict leaves the bid battle for Hyder as a straight fight between WPD, a US energy joint venture, and Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, which last week bid ?495m for the Welsh utility. Hyder directors, who previously had backed the lower Nomoura bid pending Mr Byers' decision, were on Wednesday night meeting WPD executives to discuss their next step. The board advised shareholders to take no action on either offer. The Japanese investment bank also said it was considering its position in the light of WPD's offer and the clearance by Mr Byers. St Davids Capital, the Nomura subsidiary bidding for the Welsh utility, said: "Despite this this ruling we still consider there are significant public interest issues for consumers in Wales." Nomura has argued that WPD's plans to contract out the operation of Hyder's water business to North West Water would leave only a shell company in Wales. This has been denied by WPD. WPD's shareholders - Southern Company and Philadelphia Power and Light which already own the neighbouring south west of England electricity distribution business - are mainly interested in Hyder's power operations. WPD's bid, currently worth 340p a share, has already been cleared by European competition authorities. Nomura's offer of 320p share, over which the EU has no jurisdiction, has also been cleared by Mr Byers. Hyder shares closded 3p lower at 350p, just above WPD's offer price. Nomura currently owns 16.2 per cent of Hyder's shares, leaving the bank with a potential profit of ?24m, including break-fees, if it accepted WPD's bid. Both companies have to finalise offers by August 11 under stock market regulations. Schroeders is advising WPD and UBS Warburg is representing Nomura. Hyder is advised by JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. The struggle for control of the Welsh utility had looked like becoming a three cornered fight until this week when Hyder dropped plans to establish a non-profit making company "Glas Cymru" to buy its water business. HYDER: Pressure for Nomura to Raise Offer --------------- The Times August 3, 2000 NOMURA, the Japanese investment bank, is under pressure to raise its bid for Hyder, the Welsh water group, after the Government cleared Western Power Distribution's ?526 million offer (Angela Jameson writes). Stephen Byers, Trade Secretary, said WPD's plan to contract out Hyder's water business did not constitute a water-to-water merger and would not be referred to the Competition Commission. WPD's offer of 340p a share bettered Nomura's 320p bid, which has been recommended by the Hyder board, though it is now considering whether to change this. INTERAKTIVE LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Interaktive Ltd Company No: 3352341 Com. Business: Computer Related Activities Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Philip G Byrne IPno: 5583 Firm Name: Byrne Associates Address: St Kilian House 38 Whiteladies Road Clifton City Postcode: Bristol BS8 2LG JIMPRO FRESH (UK) LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Jimpro Fresh (UK) Ltd Company No: 3753785 Com. Business: General Object Adopted Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Omer K Alijanabi IPno: 5644 Firm Name: Cosgroves Address: Coral House 42 Charles Street City Postcode: Manchester M1 7DB KINGDOM LEISURE LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Kingdom Leisure Ltd Company No: 369518 Com. Business: Security Services Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Edward C Wetton IPno: 6229 Firm Name: Gibson Booth Address: 12 Victoria Road City Postcode: Barnsley S70 2BB NFF: Posts ?6.2 Million Full-year Pre-tax Loss ------------------- The Times August 3, 2000 Food processing company NFF made a ?6.2 million full-year pre-tax loss (?635,000 profit). There is no dividend. NATUREPRIDE LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Naturepride Ltd Company No: 3783509 Com. Business: Vegetable Packers Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: N C Patel IPno: 8679 Firm Name: Kranefields Address: Heather Park Drive City Postcode: Wembley HA0 1SX NORTHGATE INFORMATION: Slips into Red after Radical Restructure ----------------------------------- The Times August 3, 2000 Northgate Information Solutions, the British IT systems group, yesterday sank deep into the red after taking a series of initiatives to change corporate direction. The company, which has promised shareholders a year of consolidation, yesterday reported a pre-tax loss of ?47.5 million for the 16 months to April 30. The result, which compared with a profit of ?3.97 million previously, was struck on a rise in sales from ?133 million to ?165.4 million. Northgate, formerly MDIS Group, has undergone a significant transition since the appointment of Chris Stone as chief executive in November. Since then the company has sold its US subsidiary, Glovia, to Fujitsu of Japan for ?2.9 million, cut 193 jobs, with another 22 to go, and reduced the number of its offices from 17 to 15. It has also raised capital through share issues. Most importantly, the company has changed its focus away from enterprise resource planning - where it helped companies to plan their supply chains - to outsourcing and "front office solutions". Northgate extended the financial year this year to 16 months to "sweep up all the changes that took place in the year", said Mr Stone. After stripping out one-off costs, allowing for savings, one-off gains and the share issue, the company delivered a profit of ?2 million. Mr Stone, however, remained upbeat. "Trading in the first quarter is ahead of the same period last year and our original expectations." There was no dividend. NORRAL LOGISTICS LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Norral Logistics Ltd Company No: SC Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: William D Robb IPno: 5199 Firm Name: W D Robb Address: Scott House 12/16 South Frederick Street City Postcode: Glasgow G1 1HJ QCS (EDINBURGH) LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: QCS (Edinburgh) Ltd Company No: SC Com. Business: Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Robert Barclay IPno: 6487 Firm Name: Pannell Kerr Forster Address: 17 Rothesay Place City Postcode: Edinburgh EH3 7SQ R L DANIELS LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: R L Daniels Ltd Company No: IR Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: Desmond Murnane IPno: Firm Name: Murnane Nolan Address: 27 Longford Terrace City Postcode: Monkston R L WENSLEY & CO LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: R L Wensley & Co Ltd Company No: 1330581 Com. Business: Jewellers Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: John C Moran IPno: 5425 Firm Name: Parkin S Booth & Co Address: 44 Old Hall Street City Postcode: Liverpool L3 9EB REALTIME RT LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Realtime RT Ltd Company No: 2867264 Com. Business: Computer Software Wholesalers Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Paul R Boyle IPno: 8897 J C Sallabank 8099 Firm Name: Harrisons Address: 43 South Street City Postcode: Reading RG1 4QU STANDARD CHARTERED: Shares Tumble as 6,000 Job Cuts Loom ---------------------------------------- REUTERS & YAHOO August 2,2000 Leading emerging markets bank Standard Chartered unveiled a major restructuring on Wednesday that included 6,000 job cuts worldwide, but investors frowned at the programme's price tag. The bank said it did not have details about when the job cuts would take place or in which country. Although it is based in the UK, the bank operates mostly in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India and elsewhere in Asia and in the Middle East. "It will be pretty much spread around the bank, wherever we do business -- even in the U.S. and UK markets. It's not just in back office, but front office as well. right across the spectrum," Talwar said. Shares in the UK-based bank tumbled 8.53 percent to 869 pence after it announced the plan to boost efficiency and customer service would cost 480 million pounds over the next three years. Lost in the news of the restructuring programme were the bank's first-half pre-tax profits, which grew a healthy 31 percent to 356 million pounds due to lower bad debt provisions and a recovery in its key Asian markets. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected first-half profits at between 340 and 380 million pounds. "The restructuring of the bank was clearly signalled, but the size of the charge came as a bit of a surprise," said banking analyst Chris Ellerton at UBS Warburg Dillon Read. Ellerton added, however, that he welcomed the programme and would keep his "buy" rating on the bank. The bank said 100 million pounds of the programme's overall cost was the charge for integrating Grindlays Bank, which it recently purchased from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd for $1.34 billion. It said it would take a 200 million pound charge for the programme during the current year, and the rest of the charge in the next two to three years. On the plus side, Standard Chartered said the restructuring programme would lead to annualised cost savings of 70 million pounds in 2001 rising to 170 million from 2003. "The idea is to free up resources to reinvest in our growth in these markets, to move resources away from production and processing to marketing, sales, product development and reinvest in these activities," Group Chief Executive Rana Talwar told Reuters in an interview. "We have a unique franchise in the emerging markets and a great brand name. I felt it was underleveraged. This is an effort to generate resources internally to be able to reinvest in our growth," he added. As part of the programme, the bank will develop single processing centres, centralise and outsource processing in low cost centres, and simplify its organisational structure. "All in all, these initiatives mean we will reduce our headcount by 6,000 over a two year period, while at the same time we will create 1,000 new jobs to support our growth strategy," it said in a statement detailing its financial results for the year's first half. The bank added it had received a number of approaches for its Chartered Trust unit and expected to make an announcement within the next few weeks. Standard Chartered set an interim dividend of 7.425 pence, up 10 percent STANDARD CHARTERED: Plans Restructuring and Job Cuts ----------------------- FINANCIAL TIMES August 2,2000 Standard Chartered, the UK-based international bank, announced a restructuring plan on Wednesday including a net 4,800 job cuts alongside solid interim profits highlighting the rebound in its core Asian markets. However, investors punished the cost of the changes and made unfavourable comparisons with the latest results from HSBC Holdings, which is also reliant on Asia. Standard Chartered shares slumped almost 10 per cent to a session low of 853p. The emerging market specialist plans to take a ?200m charge against full-year earnings and invest a further ?280m over four years to upgrade and integrate its customer service and back office systems. It will also sell its UK-based Chartered Trust consumer finance business and said it had received a number of inquiries and planned to make an announcement in four to six weeks. Standard Chartered was hit hard by its exposure to Asia, Africa and the Middle East during the emerging market crisis of 1997-98. However, it has consolidated its emerging market franchise with a string of acquisitions which are feeding through to efficiency and revenue gains. The latest restructuring will see it shed 6,000 jobs over two years from across the business while adding 1,200 to 1,500 over four years. It currently employs just over 33,000 staff. The bank said the job cuts and efficiency measures would cut costs by ?70m next year and ?170m a year by 2003. Rana Talwar, group chief executive, said: "This is about modernising, achieving a radical change in how we do our business and building a platform for growth." Mr Talwar said the bank planned to centralise its processing systems in two global hubs in "low-cost environments" and eliminate duplication in areas such as customer call centres. The bank reported a 25 per cent rise in first-half net profits to ?231m ($344m), from ?185m in the same period last year. Bad debt provisions tumbled and profits from Hong Kong, its largest market, doubled to ?182m. Pre-tax profits climbed 31 per cent to ?356m, or 22.1p per share, in the mid-range of analysts' estimates. The improved economic outlook in its key Asian markets led the bank to cut provisions by 32 per cent to ?164m, from ?240m a year earlier, mirroring the reductions announced on Monday by HSBC. Its customer loan book grew by 12 per cent though net interest income climbed 4 per cent as margins remained under pressure. Growth in loans and fee income also reflected the purchase last year of trade finance units from UBS and CIBC and a 75 per cent stake in Bank Nakornthon of Thailand. In April, the bank paid $1.34bn for the Middle East, Indian and south Asian business of Grindlays from ANZ, a deal completed on Monday. Mr Talwar said India now ranked above Malaysia among its key markets, which also include Hong Kong and Singapore. He said the bank still planned to pursue expansion opportunities in Taiwan, though Indonesia had been downgraded from its high- priority list. This followed the collapse last year of its plan to secure control of Bank Bali. The interim dividend was raised by 10 per cent to 7.425p. TASKLAKE LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Tasklake Ltd Company No: 2977023 Com. Business: Manufacture of Leather Goods Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Stephen L Conn IPno: 1762 Firm Name: Stephen Conn & Co Address: 17 St Anns Square City Postcode: Manchster M2 7PW W & M GIBSON LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: W & M Gibson Ltd Company No: 0437608 Com. Business: Retail Bread/Cakes/Confectionery Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Andrew Dick IPno: 8688 Firm Name: Begbies Traynor Address: 1 Winckley Court Chapel Street City Postcode: Preston PR1 8BU WAKEFIELD TRINITY: Financially Troubled Club Sacks Chief -------------------------------- The Guardian AUGUST 1,2000 Wakefield Trinity have sacked their chief executive John Pearman, a former leader of Wakefield council, because of his failure to fulfil commitments which has landed the club in deep financial trouble. Pearman secured permission to take a 75% shareholding in Trinity in the spring on the basis that he would make land worth pounds 1.8m available to the club. Trinity had already embarked on major investment programmes in both their team and their Belle Vue stadium but Pearman has yet to come up with the land - leaving the club with an insolvency crisis and debts believed to be more than pounds 1.5m. Players' pay cheques have bounced several times this season and the backroom staff were not paid on time last month. Wakefield's chairman Ted Richardson will meet with Pearman's accountants and legal advisers today to clarify the club's future. 'We are still waiting for Mr Pearman to bring his money in and I have relieved him of his duties as chief executive so he can concentrate on doing that,' said Richardson. 'Now I want to give him every opportunity to do what he promised. I can't believe that he won't.' Richardson spent yesterday discussing a new contract with Tony Kemp, the Kiwi who succeeded Andy Kelly as coach two months ago. Wigan, meanwhile, have agreed a new two-year contract with the New Zealand coach Frank Endacott, who has been hugely popular since replacing Andy Goodway last winter on a one-year contract. 'We are delighted that Frank has agreed to stay at the club,' said Wigan's chairman Maurice Lindsay. 'By staying for a further two seasons it will give Frank a chance to further develop our youth programme.' Endacott, who will quit as New Zealand's coach after this autumn's World Cup, had been approached by two other Super League clubs. But staying at Wigan was always his preference. 'I'm really delighted,' he said. 'I always envisaged that coaching in England was going to be good but Wigan has been even better than I hoped.' Endacott received another boost yesterday when Richie Barnett, his London Broncos-bound New Zealand captain, declared himself fit for the World Cup despite the jaw injury he suffered in April. ZAMANIS TOO LTD: Liquidation proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Zamanis Too Ltd Company No: 3685124 Com. Business: Restaurant Appointed on: 13/07/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Derek L Woolley IPno: 6047 John Russell 5544 Firm Name: Poppleton & Appleby Address: 93 Queen Street City Postcode: Sheffield S1 1WF S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Troubled Company Reporter -- Europe is a daily newsletter co- published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC USA. Lexy Mueller, Mercy Villacastin and Cristina Pernites Editors. Copyright 2000. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2754. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Europe subscription rate is $575 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each. For subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at 301/951-6400. * * * End of Transmission * * *