Enterprise Bill warning
Property consultancy GVA Grimley has been appointed by Railtrack administrator Ernst & Young to evaluate the income-producing businesses and property assets of the company.
The work will be an important step towards establishing a data room for potential bidders for Railtrack plc. The project will evaluate several thousand property assets including a number of major station development projects. It will also cover income-producing sites such as retail lettings, advertising rights and charges received from train operating companies for track at station access.
For more, go to www.gvagrimley.co.uk
PricewaterhouseCoopers has warned the easier bankruptcy regime introduced in the government’s Enterprise Bill could encourage people ‘to take the wrong sort of risk’.
PwC’s Pat Boyden said the majority of bankruptcies were the result of consumer debt, not failed enterprises, and argued the new regime could see fewer individual voluntary arrangements which tend to provide a better return to creditors. The firm also said it was important the Bill did not slow down the business rescue process by requiring too much consultation.
But launching the Bill, trade & industry secretary Patricia Hewitt said: ‘We must have a modern insolvency regime which supports enterprise and encourages responsible risk-taking.’
More on the Enterprise Bill can be found at DTI.gov.uk
KPMG has been appointed administrative receiver of Fifoots Power Station near Newport, South Wales. The appointment came after the power station was placed in ‘standby mode’ in February.
The receiver, which is seeking a buyer for Fifoots as a going concern, expects the power station to remain on standby for several weeks. Ninety-six people work at the station, but none are employed by the company in receivership.