Administration fears grow at Mayflower
An announcement by Mayflower, the troubled bus maker, that negotiations with its lenders are likely to fail, has raised the prospect of administration for the company.
Link: Trading in Mayflower suspended
The collapse in the firm’s fortunes has been rapid since it revealed accounting ‘irregularities’ on Monday morning. Trading in the company’s shares was suspended yesterday at its own request when it became clear a deal with lenders would not be forthcoming.
The ‘irregularities’ – uncovered in Mayflower’s TransBus Division – related principally to ‘delays in passing on payments from customers to one of the group’s finance providers’.
The Guardian today suggested financiers had effectively ‘pulled the plug’ and said that over 3,000 jobs now hung in the balance, with growing expectations the company would have to be put into administration.
The firm’s auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is conducting an investigation to find out what went wrong.
A spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the ‘irregularities’ – which Mayflower says go back three or four years – were ongoing after PwC took over the accounts in 2002.