Weather Afternoon: 10°c Sunny spells Tonight: 4°c Partly Cloudy Night

Business

Payment default puts Cattles closer to brink

Rosamund Urwin
6 Jul 2009


Cattles, the stricken subprime and doorstep lender, lurched further into crisis today as it admitted that it will default on an interest payment for a £400 million bond. The payment was due yesterday.

It is the latest in a long line of problems at Cattles and comes as an important deadline in its discussions with its lenders approaches.

The company, whose customers are people unable to obtain credit from mainstream banks, said that it is still locked in talks with creditors over a standstill agreement on a £500 million loan which expires on Thursday. If an agreement is not reached, it is in danger of collapsing into administration.

Cattles cleared out its boardroom last week and fired seven directors following an investigation into accounting errors which left a
£700 million black hole in its balance sheet.

Trading in its shares was suspended in April and its 2008 results have been delayed.

Earlier in the year, Cattles gave up on a bid to obtain a banking licence which would have allowed it to accept retail deposits.

Reader views (1)

 Add your view

For those unfortunate people who have been mis-sold and conned for finance by this cutthroat company....I hope they go down like a very heavy sinking ship.
Crooked directors running a very unhealthy moneylending operation.Marginally better than doorstep loan-shark, but working on the same priciples.
I hope the shareholders who invested in this plc lose their shirts as well.

- Tomtomclub, sussex, 09/07/2009 10:50
Report abuse


Add your comment

 

Terms and conditions Make text area bigger You have  characters left.

We welcome your opinions. This is a public forum. Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.

For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.


 

 

  • Slump looms in eurozone as economy takes a dive Euro Europe's lingering debt crisis has pushed the eurozone closer to recession as the beleaguered single currency bloc's economy shrank for the...
  • Sports Direct is on right track Mike Ashley Sports Direct is on track to hit its "super-stretch" profit targets this year, passing the first hurdle that could see it hand founder Mike...
  • Bank may turn off printing presses as inflation drops Mervyn King The Bank of England's latest £50 billion burst of quantitative easing may be the last time it needs to resort to the printing presses
  • Online orders on mobiles lift Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza UK said its online sales have powered ahead to account for more than half of delivered sales
  • Debt deadline: Greece on brink Hopes were rising that Greece will sign up to the first €130 billion (£109 billion) bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund
  • Frothy profits at Heineken Beer The economy might be in dire straits but Brits still love a pint down the pub
  • French banks face battering on exposure to Greek debt French banks look set to take one of the biggest haircuts on Greek debt as the country's largest, BNP Paribas, has said it had raised its provisions on Greek sovereign bonds to 75%
  • Thorntons calls in a former Gunner to help turnaround Thorntons The chocolatier Thorntons has turned to the former boss of Arsenal football club to turn around its fortunes
  • LandSecs £1bn joint venture for Victoria A £1 billion-plus redevelopment is on the way at Victoria station
  • Morgan Crucible results surge on emerging market growth Morgan Crucible reported highest-ever full-year results, helped by strong performance across both its divisions, and reiterated that 2012 growth would be driven by new products and emerging markets
  •  
    Market Roundup
    WEDNESDAY UPDATE

    Barclaycard's exit leaves CPP with an identity crisis

    Bye bye Barclaycard. Nearly a year since the FSA started investigating CPP over its sales techniques, the identity theft protection firm touched a new, all-time low today after admitting it was losing one of its most high-profile clients

    More