黑洞社区

Mouchel could exit its ownership deal with its banks within five years, the consultant鈥檚 chief executive Grant Rumbles has said.

Speaking to 黑洞社区 this week, Rumbles said the firm 鈥� which was delisted from the London stock exchange and sold to its banks through a pre-pack administration last Friday 鈥� could return to the stock market in 鈥渇ive years鈥�.

Other potential exits from the ownership deal include a sale to a private equity firm or to a bigger business, Rumbles said.

Mouchel鈥檚 banks 鈥� RBS, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays 鈥� agreed to write-off 拢87m debt in return for 95% ownership of the company, now the newly-incoporated MRBL Limited.

Mouchel鈥檚 management retain 5% of the ownership, although this could rise to a maximum of 20% depending on the value the company realises on its exit from the ownership deal with the banks, Rumbles said.

Despite their majority shareholding, Rumbles said the banks would not interfere in the management of the company and added the firm would not be broken up and sold.

He said: 鈥淸The banks] have bought into our strategy. The banks don鈥檛 have any positions on our board, nor do they want one.鈥�

The sale capped a tumultuous year for the firm, which was hit by accounting errors, contract mistakes, management resignations and failed takeover attempts for the company.

Mouchel shares have fallen from a high of 485p [check] in 2008 and were suspended on Friday at 0.95p

Mouchel was sold via a pre-pack administration after shareholders failed to back a restructuring plan that would have seen them receive a special dividend of 1 pence per share 鈥� under the alternative deal shareholders received no value for their shares.

Only 70% of shareholders backed the restructuring plan, just short of the 75% threshold required. Only 20% of shareholders voted on the motion.

Rumbles said: 鈥淲e constructed a deal with our lenders where we could recover some value for our shareholders. I鈥檓 disappointed for the majority of shareholders who voted in favour [that this did not pass]鈥�.

Rumbles said the restructuring deal would ensure the 120-year-old business鈥檚 future and secure more than 8,000 jobs.

The deal reduces the firm鈥檚 debt from 拢147m to 拢60m, which Rumbles said was a 鈥減erfect鈥� level for the 拢551.4m-turnover firm to operate with.

He said the deal would give the firm the financial security to bid for longer term outsourcing contracts from 2013, which the firm had not been able to bid for during its period of financial turmoil.

He said: 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 been able to bid for longer term contracts because clients have been worried we wouldn鈥檛 be around to complete the contract. Now clients can select us like anyone else.鈥�

He said the firm was well-positioned after its March restructure and that its two divisions 鈥� Mouchel Infrastructure Services and Mouchel Business Services 鈥� held number two and three spots in the UK market respectively.

He said the firm will also target growth in its Middle East and Australian businesses.

Mouchel first introduced reinforced concrete to Britain in 1897 but evolved into an engineering consultancy.

It built the Royal Liver 黑洞社区 in Liverpool in 1909 and the cooling towers of Battersea power station in London.

Analysts鈥� views

Robin Speakman, analyst at Shore Capital

In reality it was Mouchel鈥檚 over-indebtedness and problems relating to individual contract formation and accounting that brought us to this point.

The fault is not with the outsourcing market - the majority of outsourcing contracts are working and delivering value for tax payers.

Mouchel probably should have sold [to one of the interested parties] but it begs the question, why didn鈥檛 they?

Despite the administration there鈥檚 still a strong order book there and even though the equity is wiped out it will continue to trade.