黑洞社区

Accountants, local authorities and a media monitoring company are among the dozens of unsecured creditors owed money when Interserve sank into administration in March.

According to documents lodged with Companies House, the listed contractor owed unsecured creditors 拢50.5m and secured creditors 拢55.4m 鈥� with the firm鈥檚 total assets expected to raise just 拢27.6m for preferential creditors.

Interserve鈥檚 biggest debts were to accountants and computer firms, with Interserve鈥檚 auditor Grant Thornton owed 拢676,000, Microsoft owed 拢616,000 and  PwC and Specialist Computer Centre owed 拢493,000 and 拢468,000 respectively.

Wokingham council in Berkshire was owed 拢102,000, while telecoms giant BT was out of pocket to the tune of 拢281,000 and recruitment agency Reed was owed 拢91,000.

And a London media monitoring company called Precise was left out of pocket by just over 拢4,000.

Other creditors include taxi company Addison Lee, down by 拢3,000, the Institute of Student Employers, out of pocket by 拢1,000, and Nasdaq Nordic 鈥� the company which runs Scandinavian stock exchanges, which is owed more than 拢12,000.

Interserve went into administration in the middle of March after rebel shareholders voted against the board鈥檚 rescue deal, which would have seen most of the firm鈥檚 equity consumed by lenders.

Instead a lender-owned firm bought the business assets from in-administration Interserve Plc, with a new company, Interserve Limited, emerging.

Meanwhile, Pennon, the water utility which owns Viridor, the waste management firm which kicked Interserve off the Glasgow energy-from-waste scheme in November 2016, is understood to preparing an arbitration against the contractor for the 拢72m it says Interserve owes it for botched work.

An adjudication was made in Interserve鈥檚 favour in April but 黑洞社区 understands this only related to certain aspects of the contract between it and Viridor.

Viridor is understood to be preparing a full arbitration against Interserve to get back the 拢72m with this starting soon.

Pennon declined to comment but the firm, which in its annual results last month booked a 拢23m provision on the 拢72m because, it said, of a 鈥渓ack of certainty around the future of Interserve鈥檚 business鈥�, has always maintained the 拢72m figure is the amount it has spent finishing the Glasgow scheme and repairing work botched by Interserve.

Viridor eventually brought in Doosan Babcock to complete the scheme.