Stricken outsourcer Interserve (IRV) agreed a rescue deal with lenders on Wednesday as its top shareholder reacted with anger by seeking to oust the board. A consortium of bondholders and lenders will take control of the support services group after its crippling debt pile was replaced with new shares. That will cut the debt burden from around £650 million to £275 million, saving it from possible collapse. Chief executive Debbie White said: “The board believes that this agreement will secure a strong future for Interserve… its successful implementation is critical to the Interserve group’s future and all of its stakeholders.” Shareholder Coltrane, which will see the value of its stake effectively wiped out, attempted to derail the plan. The New York firm, which owns 15%, launched a shareholder vote off to kick out Interserve’s eight-person board and install two new faces. No vote is proposed against White, whom Coltrane wishes to retain.
Redrow reports growth but chairman is sick of Brexit indecision. Steve Morgan, the outgoing chairman of housebuilder Redrow (RDW), on Wednesday said the country was “sick of” Brexit and urged the Government to “get on with it”. Redrow warned that the market in the run-up to Christmas “was subdued by macro-economic and political uncertainty” as protracted negotiations and Parliamentary gridlock continues. The outspoken Morgan, who founded Redrow nearly 45 years ago, told the Evening Standard: “We cannot stand this indecision longer. The country is sick of it. My message is, whatever happens, just get on with it.” The firm still managed to raise pre-tax profits up 5% to £185 million in the half- year to December 31, but chief executive John Tutte stressed that Brexit jitters and stamp duty changes have made selling in London harder.
Bob Diamond’s African adventures took a hit on Wednesday as he stepped down as chairman of the Atlas Mara Limited (DI) (ATMA), which has hired Citigroup for a “strategic review” of the bank. The former Barclays man, once dubbed the “unacceptable face of banking” by Lord Mandelson, will remain a non-executive director. Sources said Diamond was only ever intended to be a temporary chair but the shares have crashed 80% since floating in 2013. His fellow board member Michael Wilkerson becomes executive chairman, with Omar Khan appointed chief financial officer as part of the top-level management shake-up. Atlas, which had big ambitions for banking in Africa, said it is examining “indications of interest” in some of its operations. It said Citigroup would run a review to “ensure that top five market leadership is practically achievable in the near term”.
