Vanco sale imminent, slashed from £400m to £1

The sale of the troubled telecoms carrier Vanco is expected within the coming two weeks, at a price likely to be slashed from a peak value of £400m to as little as £1.

Andrew Coppel, the restructuring expert brought in to rescue the company, has warned buyers he needs to strike a deal in days before Vanco runs out of cash. BT is one of several companies said to be considering an offer, according to Sunday Times.

Shares in the virtual network operator, which rented band-width from rivals but owned little of its own infrastructure, were suspended 12 days ago when Allen Timpany, chief executive, resigned.

It is expected the company will be placed in administration and then sold. While shareholders like JO Hambro and Fidelity will get nothing, lenders led by Lloyd TSB, are negotiating to claw back some of Vanco’s £123m debt.

Further reading:

Speculation mounts over Vanco

A helping hand to profit

Read the Sunday Times story