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Laird makes a change
Page 18
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• Laird Group has replaced its auditors, Coopers & Lybrand, after finding "fundamental errors" in the past accounts of its bus, coach, and taxi-building subsidiary Metro-CammellWeyrnann.
The accounts had failed to record losses of 218.1 million in the nine months to September 1988. A further 216.3 million of losses before 1988 has been revealed by an independent audit by Laird Group's new accountants, Deloitte Haskins & Sells.
A 17p rise in Laird's share price may seem an odd reaction to such revelations, but MCW has weathered the storm well. Its cash flow is strong and its balance sheet looks good even after the write-offs. The share boost is also underpinned by the news that several companies want to buy the slimmed down company.
MCW has confirmed reports (CM 30 March-5 April) that Plaxton has expressed "serious interest" in buying the business, possibly in partnership with Fiat. CM understands that four other companies have shown interest, including Mitsubishi.
The MCW management expects a sale to be concluded by the end of this month: the workforce is currently working out its notice period.
But even if a rescue package is put together, many employees have already lost their jobs. Laird has slashed the staff from 1,000 down to 450 in what MCW calls "a painful restructing".
It was the discovery of lossmaking contracts in the bus operation that persuaded Laird to dispose of its entire transport arm. MCW is now said to be trading at a modest profit on a month-by-month basis, but PSV sales have been hit hard by the uncertainty over the firm's future.