/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010216.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, February 16, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 34

                             Headlines


* A U S T R I A *

LATTNER HOLZINDUSTRIE: Flooring Firm Files Insolvency Proceeding

* B U L G A R I A *

BALKIAN AIRLINES: Suspends Flights & Plunges Towards Bankruptcy

* D E N M A R K *

MEMORY CARD: Deal to be Unveiled Feb. 19, with Nothing for Equity

* F I N L A N D *

METSA SERLA: Moody's Cuts Ratings to Baa3 & Says Outlook Dim

* F R A N C E *

GRIMAUD: Court Sees Six Offers to Buy Transport Group

* G E R M A N Y *

EM.TV: Inks Rescue Deal with Kirch
PHILIP HOLZMANN: Sells Held & Francke Road-Construction Unit

* I R E L A N D *

EIRCOM: Desmond May Be the Mystery Backer
WORLDSPORT NETWORK: Liquidator Readies Remaining Assets for Sale

* L I T H U A N I A *

LIETUVOS GELEZINKELIAI: Bankruptcy Looms for State Railway

* N E T H E R L A N D S *

KONINKLIJKE KPN: Moody's Assigns Baa2 Senior Unsecured Rating

* P O L A N D *

AGROS-HOLDINGS: Sees 2000 Loss at 92 Million Zlotys

* P O R T U G A L *

CASAL: Bankrupt Engine Company's Assets Sold

* R U S S I A *

ALFA BANK: S&P Raises Debt Ratings . . . to Junk Levels

* S P A I N *

SANTANA MOTOR: Threatens Suspension of Payments or Liquidation

* U N I T E D   K I N G D O M *

A J SOUND & VISION LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
BUSINESS ALLIANCE UK PLC: Liquidation Proceedings
CDC PORTLINK LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
CORUS: Jobless Steelworkers Offered Telecom Posts
CORUS: Presses On with Job Cuts
CRITCHLOW BUILDERS MERCHANTS LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
EQUITABLE LIFE: Nominates Vanni Treves as New Chairman
EQUITABLE LIFE: Regulators Admit Errors
EQUITABLE LIFE: Financial Services Authority Backs Halifax Deal
EQUITABLE LIFE: Top Staff to Get 36 Percent Bonus
FEARNS ACCIDENT REPAIR CENTRE LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
FINELIST: Receivers Sell Two Additional Business Units
GLENFIELD KEYTEC INTERNATIONAL LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
MILLENNIUM DOME: Government Works On Dome Deal
MONTE CARLO MACHINE CO LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
NCI EURO LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
OLIVER BOOKS: Craft Print Intends to Enforce Personal Guarantees
PEN FACTORY LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
SCOTIA HOLDINGS: Ernst & Young, as Receiver, Cuts Workforce


=============
A U S T R I A
=============

LATTNER HOLZINDUSTRIE: Flooring Firm Files Insolvency Proceeding
----------------------------------------------------------------
Lattner Holzindustrie, the Austrian parquet flooring
manufacturer, has filed for insolvency at the district court of
Styria, according to a report circulated by Wirtschaftsblatt. The
Company's liabilities total Sch154m, compared to Sch53.6m in
assets.  Lattner invested in a new production plant in 1997 but
was unable to achieve turnover sufficient to cut costs as a
result of a price drop on the parquet flooring market.


===============
B U L G A R I A
===============


BALKIAN AIRLINES: Suspends Flights & Plunges Towards Bankruptcy
---------------------------------------------------------------
A day after the majority shareholders announced they are seeking
230 million dollars from the government over the terms of the
1999 privatization, Balkan Airlines has suspended all flights
until further notice.  Rumor says the carrier will land in
bankruptcy.

"Bankruptcy would be quickest and least painful solution for
everyone. The company would come out of it more cleanly," Krassen
Stanchev, head of the market economic institute in Sofia, told a
reporter for AFP.

Zeevi Group and Knafaim et Arkia holding, two Israeli companies,
acquired the airline in 1999 in a privatization sale for $150,000
plus assumption of $100 million of debts.  Labor problems plagued
the new owner.  Balkan is currently $50 million (59 million euros)
in debt, down from $120 million before the company was privatized
last year, Agence France Presse reported last month.

"Balkan was an airline that was too big for a country the size of
Bulgaria, and it was flying the wrong type of passengers to the
wrong destinations," said Andrew Gray, a former British Airways
manager who took over as chief executive after Zheevi's
acquisition.  "Our vision," Mr. Gray told the Financial Times last
year, "is for Balkan to become an efficient high-quality carrier
operating a small network of European routes."  The airline cut
its longhaul routes to destinations like Bangkok and Johannesburg,
focusing the network of flight paths connecting to Algiers,
Amman, Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Cairo,
Casablanca,  Copenhagen, Dubai, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Istanbul,
Kuveit, Larnaca, London, Malta, Milano, Moscow, Paris, Rome,
Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Tunis, Vienna, and Zurich.

The airlines fleet, according to information posted on the
Company's Web site at http://www.balkan.com,include Boeing 737-
500, Boeing 737-300, ATR 42, Antonov An-12, An-24, Tupolev Tu-
154, and L410 aircraft.

The company's new chief executive, Zvi Frank, cites "payments
towards Balkan's vast debt, this year's high fuel prices and the
unfavorable exchange rate of the euro against the dollar" as the
chief reasons for the carrier's latest reported losses.


=============
D E N M A R K
=============


MEMORY CARD: Deal to be Unveiled Feb. 19, with Nothing for Equity
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lars Marcher, the managing director of the Danish memory modules
producer Memory Card Technology (CSE Fondscode: DK001023829-4),
told the Borsen this week a solution to the group's problems will
be unveiled on 19 February.  Marcher declined to reveal the names
of possible purchasers for the group as confidentiality
agreements had been signed with interested parties. However, he
did say
hat the purchaser would not be the US firm Kingston Electronics
and that there was interest from a significantly larger group.
Texas Instruments, the world's leading maker of computer chips
for mobile phones, has previously been mentioned as a possible
purchaser, but a spokeswoman for Texas Instruments (TI) Europe,
Linda Bernier, said the group no longer produced memory modules,
having withdrawn from this sector more than three years ago.

MCT's moratium on payments to creditors has recently been
extended by three months and yesterday Marcher informed the
Copenhagen bourse -- see http://www.xcse.dk -- that MCT's
shareholders' funds should be regarded as lost.


=============
F I N L A N D
=============

METSA SERLA: Moody's Cuts Ratings to Baa3 & Says Outlook Dim
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has lowered the ratings for the senior
unsecured debt issues by Mets„-Serla Oyj to Baa3 (from Baa2) and
the rating for Mets„-Serla Financial Services Oyj for its
guaranteed commercial paper programme from Prime-2 to Prime-3.
The rating downgrades reflect concerns about the significant
increase in leverage following the Modo Paper and Zanders
acquisitions and the recent announcement by Mets„-Serla that it
would not be selling its Mets„-Tissue operations in the
foreseeable future. The outlook for the rating is negative
reflecting concerns related to expected weakening in pulp and
fine paper prices and the impact this would have on 2001 cashflow
generation as well as due to uncertainty concerning the size and
timing of any future possible equity issuance.

This concludes a review for downgrade initiated on January 31,
2001, following Mets„-Serla's announcement that the European
Commission had blocked the sale of Mets„-Tissue on anti-trust
grounds, which would have resulted in debt reduction proceeds of
about Euro 500 million.

Ratings lowered from Baa2 to Baa3 include:

     - the Baa2 rating for the Euro 1.5 billion MTN programme for
       Mets„-Serla Oyj

     - the Baa2 ratings for note drawings under the MTN programme

     - the Baa2 ratings for the $ 725 million revolving credit
       facility and the $560 million revolving credit facility of
       Mets„-Serla Oyj


Rating lowered from Prime-2 to Prime-3:

     - Mets„ Group Financial Services Oyj for its $200 million
       guaranteed ECP programme

Moody's rating downgrades reflect the significant increase in
leverage resulting from the recent fine paper acquisitions of
Modo Paper and Zanders Feinpapiere. Our rating confirmation at
the time of these acquisitions (with a negative outlook) had
assumed that Mets„-Serla was to sell Mets„-Tissue, that it would
issue several hundred million Euros in equity, and would benefit
from an upswing in the paper cycle in order to rapidly delever
the group.

It now appears that pulp pricing has peaked and is starting to
erode. Moody's believes that this will have a negative impact
both on the coated as well as uncoated fine paper pricing grades
in particular, that now represent the principal business segment
for Mets„-Serla (accounting for about 45% of sales). In addition,
a much needed debt reduction (for about Euro 500 million) via the
sale of Mets„-Tissue will not go through, at least for the
forseeable future. Although weakening pulp prices and the
benefits from previous restructurings should have a positive
impact on the results for Mets„-Tissue this year, it is not
anticipated that the tissue group will be a material contributor
to group cashflow in the near term. A combination of these
factors means that debt protection measures are now likely to be
substantially weaker than initially anticipated for 2001.

Moody's negative outlook reflects both uncertainty regarding the
extent and magnitude of pulp and paper price declines as well as
uncertainty regarding the size and timing of any prospective
equity issuance. Any decisions taken on the equity issuance may
have outlook or even rating implications depending on what is
ultimately achieved by the group.

Moody's Prime-3 rating reflects the deterioration in the
financials of the group but also the continued substantial
amounts of unused back-up facilities available for the group's
domestic and euro-commercial paper programmes.

Mets„-Serla Oyj, domiciled in Helsinki, Finland, is a leading
European paper and forestry products group with consolidated 2000
sales of Euros 5.9 billion.


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


GRIMAUD: Court Sees Six Offers to Buy Transport Group
-----------------------------------------------------
Le Figaro reports that a Bressuire (Deux-Sevres) court will
examine six offers received for French transport group Grimaud on
February 21.  The offers from the Ziegler group and Transports
Joyau seem particulary interesting, the newspaper says, adding
that Ziegler's offer includes plans to keep 1,066 of the 1,704
jobs in place.



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


EM.TV: Inks Rescue Deal with Kirch
----------------------------------
EM.TV & Merchandising said on Wednesday it inked a rescue deal
with rival Kirch Group, according to the Financial Times.  The
deal gives Kirch a 25% voting right in the troubled media group
and half its 50% stake in Formula One holding company SLEC before
the end of February.

EM.TV has been under pressure to strike a deal with Kirch this
week. It faced a number of deadlines including a E16 million
($14.7 million) interest payment today on a E400 million
convertible bond issued on its behalf by West-LB early last year
as the company was entering a rapid phase of expansion.

A week ago, Bernie Ecclestone asked EMTV to pay half of the $360
million owed by SLEC to the Federation Internationale de
l'Automobile (FIA), the sport's governing body. EM.TV owns 50
percent of SLEC, while Ecclestone holds the rest.


PHILIP HOLZMANN: Sells Held & Francke Road-Construction Unit
------------------------------------------------------------
As part of an ongoing restructuring, German construction group
Philipp Holzmann AG has sold its road-construction group Held &
Francke Baugesellschaft mbH to Habau Hoch-und Tiefbaugesellschaft
mbH at an undisclosed sum, Handelsblatt.com in its February 14
edition reported.

Holzmann said that road-construction isn't one of its core
competencies, and the Company plans to focus on general
construction, infrastructure, industry plant construction and
support services in the construction industry.

Held & Francke was part of the Holzman group since 1990.  As
previously reported in the Troubled Company Reporter Europe,
Holzmann suffered a financial crisis in 1999 as a result of the
detection of previously unknown losses.  It had negative working
capital, as current liabilities were 5.56 billion Euros while
total current assets were only 5.50 billion Euros.  Last year,
Holzmann's construction output totaled DM13 billion.  Last week,
Holzman indicated that its planned Deutsche Asphalt unit and Held
& Francke dispositions will reduce total construction output by
DM1 billion.



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


EIRCOM: Desmond May Be the Mystery Backer
-----------------------------------------
The telecom industry believes that financier Dermot Desmond can
be the mystery backer behind the latest consortium, which is
considering a bid for Eircom's non mobile business, according to
Irish Independent on Wednesday.

Sources believe Dermot Desmond, one of the key investors in Esat
Digifone, is involved in the syndicate.

Meanwhile, former cable company executive Pearse Flynn has
contacted senior management at Eircom to confirm his interest in
the company. Although extremely wealthy, Flynn would still need
significant financial backing if he attempts to buy Eircom.
Flynn was chief executive of Newbridge Networks, which was sold
to French cable group Alcatel for $7.1 billion.

According to Davy Stockbrokers analyst Scott Rankin, Eircom's
multimedia division is projected to suffer losses of more than
IR50 million pounds this year.  That loss would be likely to
further erode the company's working capital base -- which stood at
negative 18 million euros at March 30, 2000.  Rankin opines that
the value of Eircom's operation has fallen from IR709 million
pounds last summer to IR173 million pounds.


WORLDSPORT NETWORK: Liquidator Readies Remaining Assets for Sale
----------------------------------------------------------------
Worldsport Networks Limited was established by Alan John Callan
and backed to the tune of $20m.  It had negotiated the broadcast
rights to events organised by 53 international sporting
federations who worked under the umbrella of GAIS.  Last July
some 160 staff of the company, based in London, saw their jobs
disappear after the failure to secure funding.

Subsequently Mr Tom Fitzpatrick of chartered accountants
Fitzpatrick Morris Barrett & Co was appointed liquidator.

This week, the Irish Independent reports, Mr Fitzpatrick says
that he was now working to sell the company's remaining assets,
principally the rights to the Worldsport Network name.


=================
L I T H U A N I A
=================


LIETUVOS GELEZINKELIAI: Bankruptcy Looms for State Railway
----------------------------------------------------------
Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (State-run Lithuanian Railways), currently
trying to restructure its debt obligations, may need to file for
bankruptcy, the Transport Ministry said in the course of a
meeting of representatives of Transport and Finance Ministries,
as well as Lithuanian Railways.

Loans totaling US$80 million extended by international financial
institutions for the renovation of infrastructure and
development, should be acknowledged as the state debt and repaid
from the state budget, some officials urged.  The loans, these
officials argue, were taken in the name of the state, for the
development of infrastructure that was then transferred to
Lithuanian Railways.

The problem, of course, is that the railway is losing money.
Last year, losses topped US$20 million.  Passenger revenues don't
pay the freight.  Adding to the difficulty, LG is party to an
unprofitable agreement with the oil refinery Mazeikiu Nafta
(Mazeikiai Oil), currently operated by the U.S. company Williams
International. Due to the favorable tariffs applied to Mazeikiu
Nafta, under this agreement, LG can attribute US$3 million of
last year's loss to this one agreement.


=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================


KONINKLIJKE KPN: Moody's Assigns Baa2 Senior Unsecured Rating
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded Koninklijke KPN
NV's (KPN's) senior unsecured debt ratings from A3 to Baa2 and
subordinated debt ratings from Baa1 to Baa3 due to Moody's
concern that KPN will be unable to reduce its indebtedness
significantly during 2001. This is due to a combination of a
reduction in anticipated proceeds from asset disposals and the
IPO of KPN Mobile, as well as potential delays in the
implementation of such events.

Moody's estimate KPN's Net Debt to be close to EUR22 billion
currently and whilst Moody's notes KPN's intention to reduce its
current level of indebtedness from the disposal of non core
assets the rating agency believes the negotiation of the sale of
KPN's interests could well be protracted. KPN will also be
hampered by the fact that a number of the potential buyers of
these assets are themselves selling assets to reduce debt. The
company is also expected to be adversely effected by the
continued negative market sentiment, with IPO proceeds expected
to be lower than previously anticipated by the company. Unlike
other operators proposing to raise cash from mobile IPO's KPN is
constrained from offering a higher percentage of shares to bridge
any gap from a diminution in the expected value of KPN Mobile.
This is because NTT DoCoMo (Aa1) holds 15% of the voting equity
and Bell South Corporation (Aa2) has an option to convert its
stake in E-plus to between approximately 24% and 29% of the
voting equity of KPN Mobile. Moody's still expects KPN to raise a
minimum of Eur5bn from its disposal and equity raising activities
during 2001, but notes KPN's development of 3G services will keep
capital expenditure levels high, resulting in only a modest
reduction in debt during 2001.

Moody's acknowledges that KPN's previously aggressive
international expansion contributes toward the execution of KPN's
wireless strategy in Europe and is partially mitigated by NTT
DoComo's 15% equity stake acquisition in KPN Mobile for EUR4
billion, as well as Bell South's equity stake in E-Plus. However,
the rating agency considers that it also substantially increases
KPN's financial risk as well as its business risk. Moody's
expects KPN to enjoy growth in traffic in wireline and wireless
domestic markets with KPN expected to remain in a strong market
position. KPN is going through a significant cost cutting program
but Moody's expects a continuing increase in pressure on KPN's
operating margins. This pressure will primarily result from
increased competition in the Netherlands as facility based
competitors, resellers and cable TV operators all step up their
competitive challenge as they develop their networks and take
advantage of market deregulation, which includes carrier pre-
selection and local loop unbundling which has already been
implemented.

Ratings affected by the downgrade are:

From A3 to Baa2:

      * 0.84% JpnY 1.8 billion medium-term notes due 2001,
      * 0.57% JpnY 30 billion medium-term notes due 2001,
      * 0.57% JpnY 100 billion June 2001,
      * JpnY 85 billion July 2001,
      * 5.75% EUR1.5 billion eurobonds due in 2003,
      * EUR3.5 billion floating rate note due in 2002,
      * EUR1 billion floating rate note due in 2001,
      * US$1 billion floating rate note due in 2001,
      * 4% EUR1.25 billion medium-term notes due 2004,
      * 4.75% EUR1.5 billion medium-term notes due 2008,
      * 6.5% NLG1.3 billion Eurobonds due 2006 and
      * the remaining availability under the Euro5 billion MTN
        program.

From Baa1 to Baa3:

      * the subordinated rating on the remaining availability
        under the Euro MTN program, and

      * the 3.5% to 4% EUR 1.5 billion subordinated convertible
        notes due 2005.

Koninklijke KPN N.V. (KPN), headquartered in the Hague,
Netherlands, is the leading telecommunications company in the
Netherlands. It supplies the whole range of telecommunications
and Information and Communication Technology services in its home
country and, either independently or in co-operation with
partners, in other countries, mainly in Western and Central
Europe. It focuses on growth in four core activities: mobile,
fixed services, IP/data services and Internet, call center and
media services. In the Netherlands KPN has 9.8 million channels
on the fixed network and is market leader in mobile telephony
(4.8 million subscribers) and Internet services. Via KPNQwest,
IP/data services are offered to the business and wholesale market
in Europe. With the addition of the German operator E-Plus, the
newly formed entity KPN Mobile becomes a major European mobile
operator with approximately 11.9 million customers. KPN's mobile
footprint currently comprises operations in: the Netherlands,
Germany, Belgium (KPNOrange), Hungary (Pannon), Ukraine (UMC),
and Indonesia (Telkomsel).


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


AGROS-HOLDINGS: Sees 2000 Loss at 92 Million Zlotys
---------------------------------------------------
Food and beverage group Agros-Holdings said on Wednesday that its
consolidated net loss was likely to have reached 92 million
zlotys ($22.5 million) last year, according to Reuters.

Sales are likely to have fallen to 1.02 billion zlotys, down 13
percent from 1.17 billion in 1999 while its operating profit fell
to around five million zlotys last year from 55.7 million.

Its French strategic partner Pernod Ricard, which planned to call
a public bid for all the remaining shares it does not yet own at
41.5 zlotys each, seeks to secure its grip on many of the
country's major vodka brands belonging to Agros.


===============
P O R T U G A L
===============


CASAL: Bankrupt Engine Company's Assets Sold
--------------------------------------------
A sale of the assets of Casal concluded this week, Diario de
Noticias reports.  The company was Portugal's first engine
factory and one of the leading players in the economy during the
Salazar period. The company was declared bankrupt last year in
Aveiro, and production stopped in February 2000. One of the main
reasons for the company's decline was competition from Japanese
producers.


===========
R U S S I A
===========

ALFA BANK: S&P Raises Debt Ratings . . . to Junk Levels
-------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's raised to triple-'C'-plus from selective
default (SD) its long-term counterparty credit rating on Russia's
Alfa Bank. At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its
single-'C' short-term counterparty credit rating to the bank. The
outlook is stable. In a related rating action, the senior
unsecured debt rating on Alfa Bank's guaranteed subsidiary Alfa-
Russia Finance B.V. was raised to triple-'C'-plus from triple-
'C'-minus.

Standard & Poor's believes that Alfa Bank's unsettled domestic
forward foreign exchange and option contracts no longer reflect a
default. Legal and regulatory authorities in Russia have not been
able to settle claims arising from these contracts, now
outstanding and unsettled for well over two years. The legal
standing of the claims remains unclear; some Russian courts have
declared the unsettled forward contracts to be unenforceable
gaming contracts. In the absence of any clear ruling, market
participants have settled bilaterally on a case-by-case basis
over the past two years, or ignored the issue entirely, waiting
for the three-year statute of limitations on the claims to take
effect. Standard & Poor's does not expect the Russian courts to
rule decisively on this issue in the coming year. The inability
of Russian courts to resolve these cases exemplifies the
country's weak and arbitrary legal system, a negative factor
constraining the credit ratings of all Russian entities. Alfa
Bank's outstanding contractual obligations on the unsettled
forward contracts was $34.5 million at year-end 1999, according
to the bank's audited international accounting standards
accounts. This is a gross figure that is not net of Alfa Bank's
own unsettled claims on forward contracts in Russia.

The ratings on Alfa Bank reflect the high risk inherent in the
Russian economic and banking environment, as well as Alfa Bank's
moderate financial profile, which has only partially recovered
following the significant losses the bank suffered in 1998. On
the positive side, Alfa Bank boasts a strong management team that
has positioned the bank well to develop its commercial and
Russian-style investment banking business in the rebounding
domestic economy. Through a combination of aggressive accounting,
good marketing, and savvy liquidity management, Alfa Bank is one
of the very small number of large private-sector Russian banks to
have survived the country's August 1998 financial crisis. In
particular, Alfa Bank was able to offset losses through a major
revaluation of the book value of its investment in Tyumen Oil
(TNK), the biggest and most important member of the Alfa Group
Consortium (AGC), the financial/industrial group to which Alfa
Bank belongs. At the end of 2000, Alfa Bank sold its stake in TNK
to AGC; Alfa Bank received 40% of the payment in cash up front,
and a three-year receivable for the balance which will be paid
down on an accelerated basis. Standard & Poor's views this as a
positive development, providing the bank with much-needed cash
equity and representing a deeper commitment to Alfa Bank on the
part of AGC.

Alfa Bank is one of the five largest Russian banks in terms of
breadth of operations and reported capital. The level of
concentration in the bank's assets and deposits is high, both
within and outside AGC. In 2000, Alfa Bank's balance sheet
strengthened and core profitability improved, but its accounts
are still dominated by several large items related to intragroup
transactions, monetary adjustments, and the buyback of eurobonds,
which were paid off in full in July 2000.

Alfa's rating outlook is stable, S&P says.

Alfa Bank's success in the medium term will continue to be linked
to the performance of the Russian economy and the implementation
of legal and regulatory reforms in the country. The bank's credit
risk will remain tied to AGC, in part through the receivable from
the sale of the TNK shares. If the Russian economy continues to
grow, Alfa Bank is well positioned to take advantage of
commercial banking opportunities, which should develop rapidly.
The unpredictable element is how Alfa Bank, and, indeed, the
banking sector as a whole, will manage credit risks if Russia
falls into recession, Standard & Poor's said.


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


SANTANA MOTOR: Threatens Suspension of Payments or Liquidation
--------------------------------------------------------------
Santana Motor, the Spanish motor vehicle manufacturer, could go
into liquidation as a result of its financial situation and the
labour ministry's rejection of an early retirement plan,
according to a report appearing in Expansion.   The 1,600 early
retirements are the basis of an emergency plan drawn up by the
Andalucia regional government to guarantee Santana Motors'
future.  These early retirements, which have not been approved by
unions, could cost as much as 72m euros (Pta12bn). Since the
company lacks the funds to finance such an operation, the
regional government asked the labour ministry to co-finance it,
which it refused to do. The ministry did not authorise the
operation because of the costs that the treasury would incur.


The regional government believes that such a stance is an affront
since profit-making companies have applied early retirement plans
in order to cut costs and these have been approve by the labour
ministry.  According to the Andalucia government, Santana Motors
will have to consider more traumatic measures, such as a
suspension of payments or liquidation, if the government does not
alter its stance. Santana Motor, whose provisional losses for
2000 stand at 42m euros, has called an extraordinary shareholders
meeting for 20 February in order to approve an emergency plan
which will deal with its financial crisis.


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


A J SOUND & VISION LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
-----------------------------------------------
Previous Name:
Company No: 2928793
Com. Business: Closed Circuit TV Systems
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: Steven G Taylor
IPno: 7953
Firm Name: Poppleton & Appleby
Address: 4 Charterhouse Square City
Postcode: London EC1M 6EN


BUSINESS ALLIANCE UK PLC: Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------------------
Previous Name: The Plaspertex Franchise Co Ltd
Company No: 3329502
Com. Business: Franchise Network
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: T C Evans
IPno: 6416
Firm Name: Rogers Evans
Address: 19 Brunswick Place City
Postcode: Southampton SO15 2AQ


CDC PORTLINK LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
-----------------------------------------
Previous Name: Computer Document Couriers Ltd
Company No: 1202737
Com. Business: Couriers/Delivery Service
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: David J Stringer
IPno: 6535
Firm Name: Stringer & Co
Address: 5 Bassett Wood Drive City
Postcode: Southampton SO16 3PT


CORUS: Jobless Steelworkers Offered Telecom Posts
-------------------------------------------------
Six thousand workers of steel giant Corus Group Plc, facing the
axe after a restructuring announced last month, will be offered
new jobs at telecom company EXi Telecoms, Reuters' says.

Under the re-employment scheme, the steelworkers will be
retrained, then help set up mobile phone networks and telecom
equipment at EXi. Organizers said it would also help the skills
shortage in Britain's telecommunications industry.

Britain's ISTC union, however, dismissed the project as unfair
and unworkable.


CORUS: Presses On with Job Cuts
-------------------------------
Corus plans to press ahead with cuts in production capacity, but
gave union leaders a month to come up with ways of retraining
about 6,000 workers, the Financial Times in its Wednesday edition
said.

According to Corus chairman Sir Brian Moffat, the closure plan in
the steel production at Llanwern, Wales, was the best hope for
the company's remaining 22,000 workers.

Meanwhile, main steel unions were divided by the plan to retrain
redundant manufacturing workers, including some Corus employees,
as telecommunications technicians.

The rescue package were said to not contain proposals to prevent
the closure of Ebbw Vale or maintaining steel-making at Llanwern.

There were claims in Wales that the announcement was timed to
distract attention from government unwillingness to provide extra
funds to the Welsh Assembly to cope with redundancies at Llanwern
and Ebbw Vale, where Corus plans to close its tinplate mill.


CRITCHLOW BUILDERS MERCHANTS LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------------------------------
Previous Name: Equipdeal Ltd
Company No: 3173700
Com. Business: Builders Merchants
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Members
Liquidators: D J Whitehouse
IPno: 8699
Firm Name: Kroll Buchler Phillips
Address: 1 Oxford Court City
Postcode: Manchester M2 3WR


ELECTRO DISCHARGING MACHINING CO LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Name:
Company No: 849754
Com. Business: Precision Engineering
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: David Wald
IPno: 3598
Firm Name: D Wald & Co
Address: 18 Sapcote Trading Centre Dudden Hill Lane City
Postcode: London NW10 2DH


EQUITABLE LIFE: Nominates Vanni Treves as New Chairman
------------------------------------------------------
The Board of the Equitable Life announced today that its new
Chairman will be Vanni Treves (60), a leading City solicitor and
partner in Macfarlanes who is also Chairman of Channel 4
Television, BBA Group Plc and London Business School.

He will take up his appointment on March 1, succeeding John
Sclater. John Sclater, together with all the Society's other non-
executive directors, announced their intention to resign when
suitable replacements are found.

Vanni Treves has extraordinarily broad business experience. He
was for 12 years Senior Partner of Macfarlanes, the City
solicitors. His career has included advising on company and
commercial law and he has held board positions in manufacturing
industry, the media and communications industries and investment
management.

Equitable is pleased to have found such an able candidate to take
it through the challenges of the coming months. Vanni Treves has
a reputation for integrity, coupled with management and
communications skills of the highest order. His board experience
is particularly wide, ranging from the industrial and media
industries to communications and investment management. He
therefore has the depth of experience that the Society needs at
this crucial time.

Mr. Treves, who has been a member of the Equitable with profits
fund since 1982, said:

"Equitable policyholders and staff have been through a very tough
time and my job now is to achieve the best possible outcome for
all policyholders. It's vital to agree a compromise on the GAR
issue - this is not going to be easy but with skill and
determination and a focus on ensuring that policyholders fully
understand the benefits of a compromise - I am confident that it
is achievable. Good communications are going to be vital over the
coming months. My experience of communications in management,
including at Channel 4, should be an asset here.

"I will be taking up my post at the beginning of March at which
time I plan to write to all policyholders. In the meantime, I
will be starting to put together a new team of non-executive
directors from the many names put forward by policyholders and
others."

Vanni Treves is currently a partner at Macfarlanes, where he was
senior partner for 12 years until 1999. He is also chairman of
the Board of Governors of the London Business School, of Channel
4 television and of BBA Group Plc, the quoted industrial services
company.  He has specialised in company and commercial law and in
corporate governance on which he has written and lectured widely.
He is a trustee of the John Paul Getty Jnr. Charitable Trust and
was chairman of the NSPCC's Justice for Children Appeal.

Equitable announced on 5 February 2001, that it has agreed to
sell the Society's operating assets, salesforce and non-profit
and unit-linked business to Halifax Group plc for a payment of up
to ś1 billion into the with-profits fund.  The Equitable also
announced the outline of a proposed scheme to achieve a
compromise between policyholders with guaranteed annuity rate
(GAR) policies and those without GARs.


EQUITABLE LIFE:  Regulators Admit Errors
----------------------------------------
The Financial Services Authority has admitted internally that it
miscalculated some of the legal risks being run by mutual life
assurer Equitable Life, the Financial Times on Wednesday said,
citing a person close to the FSA.

Officials at the industry regulator scrutinized a ś800 million
($1.2bn) reinsurance deal Equitable has concluded to maintain its
financial solvency.

But the deal provided no protection against Equitable's
controversial policy on guaranteed annuities being overturned in
the courts.

Equitable was forced to put itself up for sale last July after
losing a House of Lords ruling on guaranteed annuities. It left
it with at least ś1.5 billion liabilities and is in the process
of selling its operational assets to Halifax, a mortgage bank.


EQUITABLE LIFE: Financial Services Authority Backs Halifax Deal
---------------------------------------------------------------
The FSA said in a prepared statement that it "welcomes the
announcement by the Equitable and the Halifax on Monday 5th
February and believes that the deal struck between them is in the
interests of policyholders."

The FSA notes that it has been closely involved in the
discussions leading up to today's announcement to make sure that
the proposal meets our regulatory criteria. We know that this has
been a worrying time for all policyholders and our aim has been
to protect all their interests.

Key points of the proposal:

      * Halifax takes over the Equitable's operating assets, sales
force and non-profit and unit-linked business.

      * Halifax will pay ś500 million for these assets which will
be paid into the with profits fund to strengthen it.

      * Equitable's with-profits fund remains independent and
closed to new business.

      * Subsequently policyholders will have the opportunity to
vote on an offer to buy out guarantee rights under guaranteed
annuity rate (GAR) policies. If accepted this offer will lead to
greater certainty about the financial position of the with-
profits fund in future leading to improved investment freedom.
Equitable should therefore be able to produce better returns for
its with-profits policyholders than was envisaged at the time
when the with-profits fund was closed to new business.

      * The cost of buying out GAR policyholders rights will be
met from the with-profits fund using the ś1.5 billion reserves
Equitable has set aside to meet the GAR liability following the
House of Lords judgement.

If this proposal is accepted by policyholders and approved by the
Court up to another ś500 million more would then be paid into the
with-profits fund by Halifax.

Clerical Medical (part of the Halifax group) will provide fund
management and administration to the with-profits fund.
A particularly important element of the proposal is the offer to
buy out guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) holders' rights.

The offer, the FSA observes, will need to be made on a basis that
gets the agreement of the different classes of policyholders, who
will have the opportunity to vote on the deal.  Court approval
will provide an ultimate safeguard for the fairness of the deal.
More work remains to be done, but the FSA believes that this is a
promising basis for a fair deal for policyholders.

The FSA -- see http://www.fsa.gov.uk/-- regulates the financial
services industry and has four objectives under the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence;
promoting public understanding of the financial system; the
protection of consumers; and fighting financial crime.


EQUITABLE LIFE: Top Staff to Get 36 Percent Bonus
-------------------------------------------------
Aimed at retaining key staff amidst the turmoil, the top six
staff at Equitable Life will receive a performance bonus of 36
percent of their basic salary each year for the next two years,
while lower-level staff will get 12 percent, according to The
Times yesterday.

The Equitable Life Members Action Group, however, described the
bonuses as looking like snouts in the trough.

Equitable, which closed to new business in December over its
treatment of guaranteed annuity rate holders, aimed to cap a ś1.5
billion liability to them by offering payments worth 20 percent
of a policy's value in return for dropping guarantees.


FEARNS ACCIDENT REPAIR CENTRE LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------------------------------
Previous Name:
Company No: 1795505
Com. Business: Motor Accident Repairers
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: Paul A Saxton
IPno: 6680
Firm Name: Elwell Watchorn & Saxton
Address: 109 Swan Street City
Postcode: Sileby LE12 7NN


FINELIST: Receivers Sell Two Additional Business Units
------------------------------
The Birmingham Post reports that the administrative receivers,
who have been running Finelist since last October, have sold
another two businesses from within the group.

Tuberex, an exhaust manufacturer with about 140 employees, based
at Hixon airfield, near Stone, Staffordshire, has been sold to a
management team, led by its managing director David Lunn.

Excel, which refurbishes steering racks and clutches, has been
sold to a US-owned company, Delco Remy.  Excel employs more than
250 people, at its headquarters in Droitwich and at further sites
at Kingswinford, Cradley Heath, Leicester and Chichester.

William Tacon of Ernst & Young, one of the administrative
receivers, told the Post: 'These sales are a further vindication
of our strategy of planned sales of the businesses individually.
We have now sold eight of the 13 businesses and there is
continuing and significant interest in most of the remainder.'


GLENFIELD KEYTEC INTERNATIONAL LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
-----------------------------------------------------------
Previous Name:
Company No: 3646576
Com. Business: Supp/Install Environmental Barriers
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: Richard J Elwell
IPno: 6057
Firm Name: Elwell Watchorn & Saxton
Address: 109 Swan Street City
Postcode: Sileby LE12 7NN


MILLENNIUM DOME: Government Works On Dome Deal
----------------------------------------------
The British government is working on a deal with Millennium Dome
bidder Legacy that may result in the state regaining control if
the property developer fails to turn it into a success, The Times
reported on Thursday.

Talks with Legacy, led by property entrepreneur Robert Bourne,
dragged on past a Wednesday deadline because of concerns over the
consortium's financial arrangements.

The Times said Bourne had agreed with the government that his
company would surrender the 63-acre site if its proposed 125
million pound Knowledge City was a failure after 12 months.

Bourne proposed to pay for the Dome in installments and after 12
months would have handed over only 50 million pounds.


MONTE CARLO MACHINE CO LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------------------------
Previous Name: Hadwin Amusements Ltd
Company No: 884218
Com. Business: Leisure Centre
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: Philip S Wallace
IPno: 8596
Firm Name: P S Wallace & Co
Address: 284 Clifton Drive South City
Postcode: Lytham St Annes FY8 1LH


NCI EURO LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------
Previous Name:
Company No: 3741520
Com. Business: Debt Collection Agency
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors
Liquidators: Keith B Stout
IPno: 5327
Firm Name: Keith Stout & Associates
Address: 2 Nelson Street City
Postcode: Southend-on-Sea SS1 1EF


OLIVER BOOKS: Craft Print Intends to Enforce Personal Guarantees
----------------------------------------------------------------
Craft Print International, based in Singapore, learned that
Oliver Books in the UK filed for liquidation this past quarter.
Craft is owed about US$460,000 from Oliver.  Craft Print
discloses in its regulatory filings with the Singaporean
authorities that it has made an additional provision for bad
debts on account of Oliver.  This, Craft says, will have a
material impact on its performance in the current financial year.
Craft additionally disclosed that it has taken action against
Peter Fenton, of Oliver Books, to recover money owing by Oliver
Books under a personal guarantee given by Mr. Fenton.


PEN FACTORY LTD: Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------------
Previous Name:
Company No: 2668631
Com. Business: Assembly/Distribute Pens
Appointed on: 02/02/01
Type: Creditors
Appointed by: Creditors and Members
Liquidators: P W Harding
IPno: 6310 D R Wilton 5708
Firm Name: PricewaterhouseCoopers
Address: Princess Court 23 Princess Street City
Postcode: Plymouth PL1 2EX


SCOTIA HOLDINGS: Ernst & Young, as Receiver, Cuts Workforce
-----------------------------------------------------------
Francesco Guerrera, writing for the Financial Times, reports that
Ernst & Young, the receiver of biotechnology group Scotia
Holdings, which went into receivership two weeks ago, has made 22
of Scotia's 100-strong workforce redundant. Ernst & Young has
also closed Scotia's office in Farnham. The moves are aimed at
cutting costs to give Ernst & Young more time to find Scotia a
suitor.




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,
Salve M. Mordeno and Cristina Pernites, Editors.

Copyright 2001.  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
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