We were told to expect an announcement this week regarding the proposed sale of Cattles Invoice Finance but much to the surprise of everyone the only announcement to be made so far this week is that the shares in the parent company have been suspended.
According to the report the company is in breach of it’s banking covenants and is currently locked away in talks with it’s bankers in an effort to refinance the company and they are claiming that they are unable to finalise the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2008 until these talks are concluded.
One has to wonder how this announcement tallies with the announcement made just a couple of days ago that CIF were expanding their sales team where the regional managing director made the bold statement that “Despite many of our competitors freezing recruitment as a means to cut costs, we feel it is important to invest in talent because it plays such an integral part of driving growth and business development”
One has to wonder quite what the “talent” has made of today’s announcement
Rumours have reached the ears of the Factoring Blog that Ernst & Young have been appointed by the bankers to have a closer look at the affairs of Cattles PLC.
Hopefully this isn’t the precursor to Adminstration as so often seems to be the case when this sort of thing happens.
Another announcement on the Cattles plc website:
“Statement on Cattles Invoice Finance
Cattles plc confirms it is exploring options in relation to Cattles Invoice Finance, including a potential disposal. No firm decision has been reached and a further announcement will be made when appropriate.”
I don’t know how much of the wording of that announcement is just legalese for the benefit of the Stock Exchange or if it’s true that “no firm decision has been reached”
Cattles Invoice Finance has been taking on new staff and clients telling them that everything will be all right mañana and I am wondering if this long drawn out takeover doesn’t happen and the parent company collapses whether the directors will become personally liable.
I was stunned to read a PR exercise on behalf of a corporate financier that he had just “successfully assisted his client in a fundraising project.
Robert, acting on behalf of Williams & Co, acted as lead advisor during the fundraising process and, after extensive negotiations, he enabled the client to secure a new funding line of around £1 million with Cattles Invoice Finance.”
I am astounded that anyone would introduce business to a company who’s parent has such well documented financial problems.
The article is here corporatefinance.org.uk/deals/williams-co-help-to-fund-success-196.php
I don’t know how true this is but Ive been told that Cattles Invoice Finance have been calling clients to let them know that they’ve finally found a buyer which has apparently already gone through in the form of another factoring company & that the move won’t affect them when it happens.
Heard that old chestnut before.
I heard about 10 days ago from a senior source within Cattles that the deal would be signed and announced within days and that it was not a trade buyer. I didn’t post anything up about it as it’s been mañana for over six months now.
I had lunch with one of their competitors today who told me that whilst they had received a few enquiries from nervous Cattles clients the big difficulty that they were finding was the termination clauses which seemed to include interest penalties as well as the usual balance of the minimal annual commission.