After taking over Parkman, and taking Parkman Chief Executive Richard Cuthbert, Mouchel's share price has dropped, fuelled mainly by the reported costs of the merger. Preliminary results for the year to July will be published in October. for

However the merger costs are 'one-off's' and the new organisation is stronger (and claims it will make further acquistions). Is it ready for take-off in the run-up to the publication of accounts?

so it just carries on as normal....except for the shareholders.
I find it hard to believe that I wasn't in this one...having previously been known to get caught in one of these fiascoes!
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* Restructuring protects 8,000 jobs, subsidiaries unaffected

* Shareholders had rejected debt for equity swap

* Lender banks RBS, Lloyds and Barclays take over business

LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The assets of British public services contractor Mouchel have been sold to a new firm owned by its lender banks and its management, after shareholders rejected an alternative restructuring plan, its administrator said on Saturday.

The deal to sell the business to a newly incorporated company, MRBL Limited, means that all of Mouchel's subsidiaries will continue to trade as usual, administrator KPMG said.

Mouchel helps build and maintain Britain's motorways, roads and schools but struggled to recover from a 2011 dominated by contract blunders, management resignations, failed takeover bids and tough trading.

Shareholders on Friday rejected a plan that would have seen its lenders swap 87 million pounds ($138 million) of existing debt for a majority stake in the company.

Instead the company was put into administration and immediately sold to MRBL, whose owners include lenders RBS , Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group.

Under the original restructuring proposal shareholders would have been given a special dividend of 1 pence per share, but will now receive nothing.

Mouchel Chief Executive Grant Rumbles said the restructuring would ensure the business's future and secure more than 8,000 jobs.

"With a stable and supportive ownership structure and a balance sheet that is fit for purpose, Mouchel will be in a strong position to rebuild the business and start winning large contracts again," Rumbles said.

The company's shares had fallen from highs of around 485 pence in 2008 to 0.95 pence on Friday before trading was suspended.

My second disaster in this sector, following Jarvis a couple of years ago - hey ho!

shinny........... got away with this one but not so lucky with Jarvis and Cattles :-(

Next one on the list...JJB
Hope you haven't got these skinny!

Amazingly - no!

Luckily me neither skinny, but there are a lot of poor sods who will get cleaned out here then the company will be bought out of administraton and continue trading...it is happening too many times!

I don't know about JJB, but the MCHL situation certainly stinks.

The 1st time it happened to me was with coloroll in @1990. From memory the company covered @10 brands including Denby and Kosset carpets. Of these 8 or 9 still trade today.

A quick google came up with this - Rolling over the past

Micheal Ashcroft...one of his companies cost me a few quid, not a total but it may be now (I've even forgotten the name..blanked out by my mind! LOL)

opto - a couple of years old, but worth a read - Leading Edge: I cut my teeth on Fleet Street unions

Opo, Do you know if he is related to this Ashcroft http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/dec2007/ashcroft_donor.html by any chance?

Stan, corrected my post 167, not John but Micheal Ashcroft. He had a company called Carlyle, I think it was registered in Belize..didn't do me a lot of good!
Seems both the Ashcrofts have had a very busy life.

Baron Michael Ashcroft, to give him his full name... Say no more.