Ennstone announce suspension of share trading
ENNSTONE have requested a suspension of the trading of their shares on the London Stock Exchange with immediate effect, pending clarification of any possible transaction and the company’s financial position.
Negotiations regarding the sale or refinancing of the Group are still ongoing, but Ennstone say recent developments in these discussions mean the likelihood of successfully concluding a solvent proposal for the Group as a whole has now greatly diminished.
UK lenders do, however, remain supportive of the UK businesses and discussions are continuing to seek a solvent solution for the company’s UK and Polish subsidiaries.
Ennstone Johnston and Ennstone Thistle, together with Polish subsidiary Ennstone Sp. z o.o., have continued to perform satisfactorily in the current difficult trading environment and, according to Ennstone’s board, should be in a position to continue to do so following the implementation of any restructuring.
Meanwhile, the Group has recently made a number of disposals of non-core assets to provide additional short-term working capital in both the UK and the US.
In the UK, Ennstone believe they now have sufficient cash headroom to see them through to the end of March 2009, provided that UK lenders maintain their current facilities alongside additional supportive actions by lease finance providers and other stakeholders.
In the US, however, the Group’s cash position remains very serious and US subsidiary Ennstone Inc. have suspended payments of interest charges and finance lease repayments to their US lenders.
Although discussions are ongoing and proposals have been made, Ennstone say that in the absence of an agreed way forward with US lenders by the end of this month, Ennstone, Inc.’s liquidity position will become critical.
