It looks like January’s cold-snap has found another victim, in the shape of retail clothing chain Ethel Austin.

Some 3,700 jobs are at risk as a result of the firm’s fall into administration, along with its sister company, homeware retailer Au Naturale.

MCR is handling the administration of the chain and spokesperson, Geoff Bouchier, stated, "the joint administrators are trading the companies in administration in the short term with a… Continue reading

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Private equity group 3i may soon put up a Nordic operator of care homes for sale. Bankers close to the deal have also suggested the operator, Ambea, could be listed on a stock market.

It's believed the firm, which generates stable cash flows, could sell for as much as a billion euros. According to Reuters, the group generated earnings before EBITDA of around 70 million euros last year.

Ambea provides… Continue reading

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Administrators are seeking a buyer for a Cheshire paper business after failed efforts to keep the firm solvent.

Bridgewater Paper Company in Ellesmere Port, owned by Canadian firm AbitibiBowater, continues to operate while a buyer is found. It sells recycled paper produced in both the UK and Canada, employs 300 workers and is said to have an annual production capacity of 220,000 tonnes.

"We are continuing to trade the business as we… Continue reading

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Accountancy firm BDO has unveiled its latest Private Company Price Index (PCPI) and it shows that valuations of both public and private firms shot up in the course of last year.

From October to December 2009, the average price/earnings multiple of London-listed companies increased to 15.1, marking a 78 per cent rise on the figure recorded at the end of the first quarter of the year. It also represents the highest… Continue reading

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Hot on the heels of Crystal Palace Football Club's confirmation that it had fallen into administration after months of financial hardship, it's claimed Portsmouth faces the same fate unless a buyer snaps up the business in the next eight days.

The organisation fell short to the sum of £2 million as the transfer window closed last night, and not even the £3.5 million sale of keeper Asmir Begovic to Stoke will… Continue reading

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Canny bargain-hunters seizing on the opportunity to buy a business while values are low are one of the drivers for acquisitions of insolvent firms in the UK more than doubling over the past year.

M&A analysts at insolvency trade body R3 also point to a slew of pre-pack administrations to account for the fact that one in every eight mergers and acquisitions throughout 2009 involved distressed businesses. The previous year there… Continue reading

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Following an investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch of the Department of Business, a publishing firm in Bolton has been issued with a winding up notice.

Smithson Publication was found to be operating a cold-calling business from its offices, asking for money to publish children’s safety booklets. These were then sent to schools unsolicited. The firm targeted the small business market with its cold calling technique and left many of… Continue reading

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Insolvency group Menzies Corporate Restructuring (MCR) has confirmed that the packaging firm Riverside Flexibles was sold to investors as a going concern this month. The business sale was made by a company called Different Page on 8 January, according to the administrators.

Somerset-based Riverside Flexibles went into administration in December around 18 months after a previous business failure, when administrator BDO Stoy Hayward sold it back to its directors in a… Continue reading

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Analysts from KPMG have already singled out the technology sector as ripe for a wave of M&A activity this year, and now PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has affirmed confidence is returning and "the right conditions appear to be in place" to signal a tipping point into the next stage of the deal cycle.

In its Global M&A Predictor, KPMG pointed out that tech firms performed strongly during the recession and entered 2010 armed… Continue reading

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The last three months of 2009 saw a drop in company insolvencies in every UK sector except that of hospitality and leisure, the latest figures show.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says the industry witnessed a 12 per cent rise in business failures, an increase driven by a 68 per cent hike in hotel insolvency levels between the third and fourth quarters of 2009 and a 31 per cent year-on-year increase.

A total of 155… Continue reading

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