John Charcol, the beleaguered mortgage broker, has become the latest company to undergo a controversial pre-pack administration – saving jobs but leaving its creditors out of pocket.
The company entered administration late on Monday night before being bought by Towergate Financial for a “nominal fee” shortly afterwards. Towergate is thought to have beaten off a rival bid from Jon Moulton’s new investment vehicle Better Capital. John Charcol found itself heavily indebted after the economic crisis hit the UK housing market.
Despite a series of staff cuts, office closures and refinancing measures it was unable to restructure and has not filed accounts at Companies House since the beginning of last year. Under the terms of the deal, more than 100 John Charcol staff and directors – including chief executive John Garfield – will transfer to Towergate, whose own chief executive Ian Darby was formerly chairman at the mortgage broker.
Source – Daily Telegraph
Justin Moy