UFO Info Week-End

Twenty franchise holders who own shops that operate under the Athena brand are angry

Twenty franchise holders, who own shops that operate under the Athena brand, are angry at what they claim to have been lack of support received in the last year. FOLLOWING the storm overthe decision by Pentos to put its chain of 157 Athena poster shops into receivership, a second row is brewing over the 29 Athena franchises. “Wehave a totally open mind,” said Paul Bains of Charterhouse.Other possible rescuers for Wembley include the American buyout fund Apollo, Mirror Group and Harvey Goldsmith.. His advisers at Charterhouse said they would consider any proposal benefiting the company and its shareholders.

But they also want some of their debts paid off.Sir Brian Wolfson, Wembley’s chairman, has tried to raise money in the City, but he appears so far to have failed to find enough backing. The banks are expected to be supportive of a debt-for-equity swap, which might result in them having up to 20 per cent of the equity in the company. I have access to private funding, and they have access to institutional funds.”
Wembley, which has debts of around £140m, is seeking a refinancing. Mr Aspinall is on the board of Caverdale Group, a motor dealer and distributor group, which is capitalised at around £25m He is believed to have access to around £20m. “I met with Wembley a number of times before Christmas,” he said, “and I have now decided to go in with Luke Johnson and Hugh Osmond. Damian Aspinall, son of John Aspinall, the Kent zoo-owner, has teamed up with two City entrepreneurs, Luke Johnson and Hugh Osmond, to propose a rescue bid for Wembley, the heavily indebted company that owns Wembley stadium, writes David Hellier.

It has been criticised by representativesof other unrelated failed pension funds, who complain that they have been denied the government support given to the Maxwell pensioners.The Goverment funded a trust that will keep all Maxwell pensions fully paid until 1996.A source close to the talks said that the Government’s attitude to its aid to the Maxwell pensioners, which was always intended to be temporary, was: when does a task force become an army of occupation?Institutions involved in the talks include Goldman Sachs, the American investment bank, which had extensive dealings with Robert Maxwell, and the accountancy firm, Coopers & Lybrand, which audited Robert Maxwell’s 800-odd companies.Ken Trench, chairman of the Maxwell Pensioners Action Group, said: “It would be a shame if we have come so far and don’t get a settlement.”. Law Debenture has since returned to the fray.This has left Sir John Cuckney as the last remaining hope for a general settlement. The Government, which has never admitted any responsibility in the Maxwell affair, is keen to end its involvement in the talks. When Law Debenture did so last autumn, he announced his intention to give up his mediation role andreturn to the Bench.