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Acquisitions News: March 2010
Wed, 31 Mar 2010:
Motor insurer Quinn Direct, part of Ireland's biggest insurer Quinn Insurance Limited, has been placed into administration. The UK business, which has 390,000 policyholders, specialised in low-cost policies for young drivers. Quinn policyholders in Britain will remain covered, it has been assured by the Financial Services Authority. The FSA said that UK customers "can continue to make claims and should continue to pay direct debits and premiums in the normal way." The insurer is to stop accepting any new business in Britain, however, to prevent it "suffering further financial losses". The parent company Quinn Insurance entered provisional administration last night in Dublin, following concerns over the company's financial status and how it was being operated. The Financial Regulator is to have an online presence to oversee operations and "to work with the new management" of the group, which has about 20 per cent of the motor and health insurance market in Ireland. The Financial Regulator has begun an investigation into "certain matters within Quinn Insurance Limited that have very recently come to light." Quinn featured strongly on comparison websites including moneysupermarket.co...
[more: Motor insurer Quinn Direct, part of Irel...]
Thu, 25 Mar 2010:
Scottish airline Highland Airways has handed over the running of the business to PricewaterhouseCoopers, having entered administration. Most of the firm's 100 employees will to lose their jobs, while operations have been cancelled "with immediate effect", the Civil Aviation Authority said. The airline's problems were exacerbated by the heavy snow at the beginning of this year, which led to cancelled flights and deepening debts. Potential investors had also pulled out at the last minute. Bruce Cartwright, joint administrator at PwC, said: "The company had encountered trading difficulties including the loss of certain contracts." He continued: "As a result they were in discussion with a number of parties over a period of time with a view to developing a new and viable operating model. The directors have now concluded that the options of maintaining operations while introducing a new investor is no longer feasible." The airline, which also operates in Wales, held a CAA operating licence and an air operating certificate. It ran a fleet of nine aircraft, and its services linked Cardiff and Anglesey, Stornoway and Benbecula in the Outer He...
[more: Scottish airline Highland Airways has ha...]
Thu, 25 Mar 2010:
Rail maintenance contractor Jarvis is set to enter administration following a dive in rail and plant hire volumes, effectively putting 2,000 jobs at risk. Network Rail, the government-backed operator, decided to delay its track renewal work while waiting for new equipment in January. The move had a significant impact on Jarvis, which had also suffered cost overruns on a large rail contract. In January Jarvis announced that it had secured a £55m contract with Chiltern Railways, in an effort to reduce its dependence on Network Rail. Jarvis had also been relying on its lenders, who refused to provide the funds needed for it to continue as a going concern. The York-based company, chaired by former Conservative minister Steven Norris, was once Britain's largest construction business, and had a market value of over £1bn at its peak. The contractors' demise began with the Potters Bar rail crash in May 2002, which resulted in the death of seven people. The train's derailment occurred after a set of points broke. Jarvis, itself, was responsible for that portion of track. Jarvis reported debts of £10.2m ow...
[more: Rail maintenance contractor Jarvis is se...]
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