Erinaceous in administration - Business - Evening Standard
       

Erinaceous in administration

Property services firm Erinaceous called in the administrators today after its shares were suspended on the stock market.

KPMG's Jim Tucker and Myles Halley immediately said they had agreed to sell Erinaceous Insurance Services, a profitable offshoot, to a vehicle formed by the group's banks.

Erinaceous employs some 4000 staff across the country, and had built up debt of £250 million after an acquisition spree.

Its board had been looking to restructure the debt, raise new capital and sell off parts of the business, none of which proved viable in the current credit crunch climate.

Tucker said there were potential buyers for some parts of the business but didn't know how many jobs might go.

The firm had warned last month that any successful financial restructuring would almost certainly wipe out all value for shareholders.

The shares, which hit 283p last year, ceased trading at 1.65p.

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