Cattles loses chairman amid battle with banks
The crisis at struggling sub-prime lender Cattles escalated yesterday after chairman Norman Broadhurst, 66, revealed plans to step down at the next annual meeting.
Cattles has already removed the finance director and five others following accounting irregularities in its key Welcome Financial Services division. Auditors Deloitte and lawyers Freshfields are conducting an independent forensic review.
Mr Broadhurst's planned departure comes amid a bitter battle with the lender's banks over a £500m facility that must be repaid on July 1 or Cattles will go bust. A debt-for-equity swap is expected. Deloitte is refusing to sign off the accounts until a new facility is in place.
Cattles has little more than a fortnight to resolve its funding crisis. However, the banks want a solution as they fear customers will not bother to repay their debts if Cattles goes bust, as happened at London Scottish Bank.
The company also appointed a new chief operating officer to Welcome Financial. Paul Mackin joins from Littlewoods Shop Direct on June 5 and will work with David Postings, group chief executive, who has taken over day-to-day management of the division.
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