Interserve has appointed administrators following the rejection of the rescue plan by shareholders on Friday (March 15). However, staff, customers and suppliers are being told it’s business as usual as the assets have been moved to a group controlled by Interserve’s lenders in a pre-arranged agreement.
In a statement on its website, Interserve says it believes this move is the best option to protect jobs and enable the Group to continue trading with minimal disruption. “All companies in the Group other than the parent company will remain solvent, providing continuity of service for customers and suppliers.
“The alternative transaction involves the equitisation of approximately £485 million of existing debt and the injection of £110 million of new money into the Group.”
Interserve Group Chief Executive, Debbie White says: “Interserve is fundamentally a strong business and with a competitive financial platform in place we see significant opportunities ahead as a best-in-class partner to the public and private sector.”
According to public procurement analyst, Tussell, Interserve was one of the top 20 suppliers to Central Government in 2018, with 15 contract awards at an aggregate value of £100m (but that’s £294m less than in 2017). The company has approximately 45,000 UK staff.
