Struggling Albemarle & Bond’s new boss today took the reins more than a week early as the firm battles for survival.
Chief executive Chris Gillespie was not due to take up his new position until October 18 but has stepped into the hot seat straightaway as the firm — labouring under a £51 million debt pile and hit by a collapsing gold price — negotiates its future with the banks.
The company has also turned to turnaround specialist and chartered accountant Colin Whipp as chief restructuring officer. Whipp, whose previous rescues include Healthcare Locums, will consider all the options for the business.
Albemarle faced breaching a key covenant test linking earnings to its debts and is racing to restructure its business by the end of the month after banks Barclays and Lloyds gave it breathing space. Efforts to raise cash in a rights issue underwritten by its biggest shareholder, US pawnbroker EZCorp, flopped last week.
