PWC confident of quick sale
ADMINISTRATORS RUNNING the businesses of brewer Cains are hoping to find a new owner for the company within days.
The Liverpool-based beer producer and pub company was placed in the hands of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on August 7 when owners Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj failed to extend their line of credit with the Halifax Bank of Scotland, leaving them unable to pay a tax bill.
Despite the difficulties, PwC's joint administrators - David Chubb, Ian Green and Craig Livesey - were quick to speak to key Cains suppliers and had the brewery back in production within three days, while its 109 pubs (seven tenanted and 102 managed) were also able to keep trading.
"It only takes one problematic supplier to throw everything into disarray, but thankfully everyone has been very understanding and cooperative so far," said Chubb, who is hoping that he and his colleagues can relinquish control of Cains, presumably to another drinks company, within just a few days.
Chubb continued: "We are advertising for interested parties in the Financial Times at the end of the week and that should help us set a timescale for positive offers as early as the week beginning August 18.
"We want to push the timetable quite hard. Ideally we could sell the entire business as a going concern very quickly.
"One deal is obviously easier to do than a number of deals, but all permutations are open when it comes to a sale, as our job is to maximise the return for Cains' creditors."
PwC is still trying to ascertain the exact figure of debts accumulated by Cains and is contacting all of the brewery's creditors to calculate the true financial position of the company.
But given that any buyer would not be expected to assume any of the Cains debts, potential new owners are lining up, with PwC registering more than 50 approaches - including from some major brand names.
"The value of the business will be determined by the offers that we receive and our task now will be to identify credible interested parties who are able to do business quickly," added Chubb.
