Commercial finance provider Davenham Group plc has been placed
into administration, owing over £80 million to its own bank lenders.
David John Whitehouse, Philip Duffy and Matthew Bond of MCR have been assigned the task of acting as joint administrators to the group, whose shares were suspended on 3 October.
A strategic review for Davenham was undertaken in the summer, and the conclusion was reached that it should cease writing new business and seek to collect its loans.
It had entered an exclusivity agreement with its banks, its largest shareholder Kingswood Property Finance and another company Moor Park Capital Partners, earlier this year with the intention of re-opening its loan book. The discussion led to its banking facility being extended for six months. Shortly before entering administration, however, the banks had demanded immediate repayment.
Headquartered in Manchester since 1991, when it was established, Davenham Group lent to British SMEs against the security of their assets with no access to, or who had chosen not to use, mainstream bank funding. It operated from offices in Manchester, Leeds, London and Birmingham.
It was reported that Davenham’s present situation is down to the adverse effects of the property market downturn.
