Fairpoint shares suspended as bank pulls support

AIM-listed consumer professional services company Fairpoint Group has suspended trading in its shares on AIM after its bank refused to provide ongoing financial support.

The Lancashire company has been notified by bank AIB Group that it is unwilling to provide the level of on-going support requested by the company.

This means the group is unable to sign-off the audit of its annual report and accounts for 2016, and will not be in a position to publish its annual report and accounts by the end of the month, as required by AIM rules.

Share dealings have been suspended until the accounts have been published.

Fairpoint said it is in discussions with alternative finance providers in the meantime.

In March Fairpoint announced that its 2016 profits had halved to less than £5m and it suspended dividends until further notice. It reported pre-tax profits of £4.9m (2015: £10.5m) on revenue of £52.9m (2015: £54.1m) for the year to the end of December 2016.

In the same month it sold its medico-legal business PIX for £1.2m to help with cash flow.