Ex-PwC man takes charge at power station
A former director of operations at PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken charge of Drax, Europe's biggest coal-fired power station, after its US backers pulled out.
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Gordon Horsfield will take over as chairman while Gerald Wingrove, former finance director at London Electricity, will take over as FD, according to reports.
This follows the decision by AES, the US energy group, to withdraw its four directors from the power station after banks and bondholders rejected the group’s deadline to accept its financial restructuring offer by midnight last night.
Horsfield, who is chairman of the creditors’ committee and an independent director of Drax, ruled out administration for the power plant and said it would continue operating as normal.
Banks and bondholders, who are owed £1.3bn, are locked in talks with several parties, including International Power and have extended the standstill agreement, due to expire on August 14, until September 30 and are confident of finding another backer.
Drax was bought by AES in 1999 for £1.9bn. AES wrote the value of the plant down to zero after its biggest customer TXU Europe went into administration last year.