Security Pacific National Bank wound up one of Merlin International Properties’ UK subsidiaries. The bank had been pressing Merlin to pay back a £6.9m loan secured on Bury retail park owned by Merlin International Properties (UK).
Shares in the Isle of Man-based parent, Merlin International, were suspended last month during an abortive take-over offer by Luirc, a company based in the Virgin Islands.
Fininvest, Luirc’s adviser, has been criticised by the Takeover Panel for announcing the offer without ensuring that funds were in place to complete it.
Merlin had been looking to the take-over to save it from financial collapse. The company reported pre-tax losses of £25.9m (£1m profit) in the year to end-June 1990, and needed a cash injection of some £7m to keep afloat. Most of its Australian assets were sold last year, but the disposal left the company with contingent liabilities of £219m in guarantees to the banks that financed the sell-off.
Shares in Warringtons have been suspended; the company is trying to refinance.
