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| Social housing group Connaught 'nears administration' | Social housing group Connaught 'nears administration' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Connaught, the property services group that specialises in social housing, is on the brink of going into administration, the BBC has learned. | Connaught, the property services group that specialises in social housing, is on the brink of going into administration, the BBC has learned. |
| An announcement is expected later, BBC business editor Robert Peston said. | An announcement is expected later, BBC business editor Robert Peston said. |
| Connaught, which employs 10,000 people, has £220m of debt, provided by six banks and a quartet of other creditors. | Connaught, which employs 10,000 people, has £220m of debt, provided by six banks and a quartet of other creditors. |
| Connaught ran into serious difficulties over the past couple of months, after it emerged that a series of contracts would be loss making. | Connaught ran into serious difficulties over the past couple of months, after it emerged that a series of contracts would be loss making. |
| The lead bank is Royal Bank of Scotland, which recently provided Connaught with a further £15m in an attempt to keep the group going. | The lead bank is Royal Bank of Scotland, which recently provided Connaught with a further £15m in an attempt to keep the group going. |
| The management, under a new chairman, Sir Roy Gardner, the chairman of catering giant Compass, has tried to put together a rescue plan. | |
| However, its bank creditors have decided instead to put the business in administration, under UK insolvency procedures. | |
| In his blog, Robert Peston writes: "In spite of the severity of the economic crisis that engulfed the UK in 2008, few listed businesses have collapsed. | In his blog, Robert Peston writes: "In spite of the severity of the economic crisis that engulfed the UK in 2008, few listed businesses have collapsed. |
| "In that sense Connaught, a FTSE 250 company which at one stage had a market value of well over £500m, is unusual." | "In that sense Connaught, a FTSE 250 company which at one stage had a market value of well over £500m, is unusual." |
| Shares in the Exeter-based company have lost about 90% of their value since late June, when it announced it had identified 31 contracts that had been deferred following the spending cuts announced in the Budget. | Shares in the Exeter-based company have lost about 90% of their value since late June, when it announced it had identified 31 contracts that had been deferred following the spending cuts announced in the Budget. |