BOOK FIRM BOSSES ON BORDERLINE; Company in fight for survival.BOOK chain Borders are holding emergency talks to secure their future. Store bosses are concerned the firm do not have enough cash to make it through the key Christmas trading season. They are suffering because of rising competition from supermarkets and online book sellers. The group, who also run the Books Etc brand, are said to be in discussions with firms including Waterstone's parent HMV HMV His Master's Voice HMV High Mobility Vehicle HMV High Mileage Vehicle HMV High Molecular Weight HMV Heavy Maintenance Visit HMV Hazardous Materials Vault (military vault for dangerous materials) HMV Heavy Military Vehicle as fears mount they could be forced to call in administrators this week. It is understood WH Smith walked away from a takeover deal on Friday, dashing hopes Noun 1. dashing hopes - an act (or failure to act) that disappoints someone disappointment failure - an unexpected omission; "he resented my failure to return his call"; "the mechanic's failure to check the brakes" that they would secure a sale of the bulk of their store portfolio to the retailer. There are Borders shops in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness. Borders - bought in July under a private-equity backed management buyout - were thought to have been looking to offload To remove work from one computer and do it on another. See cooperative processing. 36 of their 45 stores to WH Smith. The group are believed to have struggled amid the tough trade credit insurance markets, which has made it hard to secure stock from suppliers. Woolworths went under after similar problems. Borders were originally owned by the US book giant of the same name but the UK and Ireland arm were sold to buyout group Risk Capital Partners - headed by Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson Luke Johnson may refer to:
Management, led by chief executive Philip Downer down·er n. A depressant or sedative drug, such as a barbiturate or tranquilizer. and finance director Mark Little, then bought the group back with financing from Valco Capital earlier this year. Borders' last set of financial figures show pre-tax losses jumped from pounds 10.3million to pounds 13.6 million, with doubts raised over their ability to continue as a going concern. The group were not available for comment. Favour Meanwhile, the future of more than 4300 jobs at Blacks Leisure was secured after landlords gave "overwhelming" backing to a rescue deal. Creditors voted in favour of a company voluntary arrangement to restructure the outdoor chain aimed at ensuring their survival. Blacks asked landlords of 89 closed or closing stores to accept lower financial claims on the firm. CAPTION(S): BATTLE: Borders |
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