Dunfermline appoints administrators to In House
WARRINGTON property group In House has been put into administration by its lender the Dunfermline Building Society.
AIM-listed In House, which had a portfolio of buy-to-let properties in the North West, borrowed around £20m from the Dunfermline, which is also in administration after collapsing in March 2009.
Speaking in the Commons at the time business secretary Vince Cable, who was then the Liberal Democrat’s Treasury spokesman, said the Dunfermline’s loans to In House were an example of “disastrous management” at the Scottish society.
The most recent figures from In House for the six months to October 31 showed the business made a pre-tax loss of £244,000 on revenue of £7,000. It warned there were material uncertainties that may cast “significant doubt” on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern. In recent months it was seeking to raise extra capital through a flotation on the Plus market.
In a statement to shareholders managing director Marcus Cassidy said: “It is with regret that I must inform you that despite our efforts to rescue the company with a new Plus flotation, which has taken up a great deal of our time and resources, the bank ‘The Dunfermline Building Society (in administration) has pulled the plug on our facility.”
He added: “The reason given by the bank was that we have breached our loan to value covenant. Although we would imagine nearly every property loan in the UK is in a similar position the bank did not wish to listen to any of our valid proposals for correcting the position.”
Insolvency specialists at Ernst & Young’s Glasgow office were appointed on July 28 to a string of In House companies: Decaton, Compustar, Avanti Properties, In House Property Projects and Berrymount Developments.
Following Dunfermline’s failure last year Nationwide Building Society stepped in for the branch network and retail accounts but the commercial lending part of the business was put into a building society special administration handled by accountancy firm KPMG.
