Another go-for-growth company bites the dust
The Sunday Times contrasted the success enjoyed by Vanco founder and CEO Allen Timpany at Le Mans last year with last week’s announcement that in the light of uncertainty about the results for the year ending January 2008, Vanco had suspended its shares on the LSE and Timpany had resigned.
The Vanco statement said that Andrew Coppel, former CEO of hotelier Queens Moat Houses, has been appointed by the Board as Chief Restructuring Officer. All other directors and managers remain in place and no further organisational or management changes are expected.
“Whilst the company’s banks are supportive and the directors are in constructive discussion with them,” said the press release, “one of the requirements of their continued support was for Allen to step down, and therefore to ensure the continuation of the business, Allen accepted.”
The ST dates the fall of the house of Timpany to the appointment of Peter Johnston as CFO to replace Simon Hargreaves in September last year. Hargreaves, who sold shares worth £688,000 shortly before the announcement last June, remained on the payroll for another seven months.
Johnston’s impact became apparent on 25 September, when the company announced a £20 million reduction in cash flow and stated that it “had focused on the achievement of short-term specific cash targets at the expense of long-term contract margins.”
Timpany bought Vanco for only £1.00 in 1988 and built it into a firm with more than 1,500 staff and annual revenues of £225m, joining the stock market in 2001. He holds 46 percent of Vanco, which two years ago was worth about £400 million. Knock off a zero for today’s valuation.
