News - written by Caroline Clayfield

Buyers are being sought for Gravetye Manor, an Elizabethan mansion country house hotel with restaurant and country club, after being placed into administration. [more]

A portfolio of buildings let to Royal Bank of Scotland, including the headquarters of Coutts on the Strand in London, is to be placed on the market for £ [more]

The twice-yearly survey by the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG) has found that positivity among Global M&A dealmakers has increased for the outlook over the coming six mon [more]

MCR has been hired to act as the administrator to printing supplier Litho Supplies plc, and divisions Litho Supplies (UK) Limited and Graphica Plus Limited, which trades as Anderson� [more]

Grant Thornton has been hired to assess strategic options for Hobbycraft, the retailer that specialises in arts and crafts. One likely scenario is a £70m trade [more]

UK water group United Utilities has brought in investment bank JP Morgan to manage the auction of one of its divisions as part of a series of asset disposals. [more]

Bolton-based car dealership Lythgoe Motors Ltd, which underwent a management buy-out in 2008, has gone into administration. Zolfo Cooper confirmed their appointment as administrators. Latest accounts for the year to December 2007 show pre-tax losses of £ [more]

Maintenance company Quadron Property Services Limited has entered administration after having cashflow difficulties and suffering from a lack of working capital. [more]

Flowfood Limited, a northern England-based company that provides a meals-on-wheels service, has been placed into administration. [more]

The owner of Card Factory has appointed KPMG to assess the options for the business to include a possible sale, or management buyout with private equity backing. [more]

First Quench, the owner of the Threshers and Wine Rack off-licence chains, faces entering administration, and rendering thousands of employees redundant. [more]

The Government is expected to announce the closure of a quarter of the Land Registry's national offices, job losses of up to 1,500, and a possible sale of the department to the private se [more]

Administrators have been appointed to Merchant Inns, the pub operator owned by veteran property magnate Sir John Ritblat. [more]

Orchid Group, which went through a pre-pack administration last year to avoid collapse, has performed a surprising turnaround to buy Premium Bars & Restaurants (PBR) out of administrati [more]

Lloyds Banking Group could be forced to package over two million divested personal accounts under its Halifax brand and put it up for sale. [more]

Smiths, the technology and engineering group that produces airport X-ray scanners and mechanical seals on medical equipment, is preparing for a sale. [more]

An auction is to take place this year for Camelot, the company that operates the National Lottery, as four out of five stakeholders prepare to sell up, representing an 80% holding. [more]

The Fees Company, an Edinburgh-based business that enables parents to spread the payments of private schools fees, has gone into administration. [more]

Lloyds Banking Group could put two of its regional branch networks on the market, after the European Commission raised concerns over market share and the level of state aid it has received. [more]

Government ministers could look into the possibility of a whole or partial sale of the road network in the UK to the private sector, in order to generate cash. It is thought the move would also improve the management of the roads. [more]