Mark Whiteling, Chief Financial Officer at Interserve Group Limited has resigned to pursue a career as a non-executive director at Connect Group PLC, a magazine and newspaper distributor.
This resignation follows the commencement of the “Pre-Pack” administration of Interserve Plc. Despite Interserve Plc going into administration, all company subsidiaries of the Parent company remain fully operational. Since the 18th March, when the company was sold to it’s creditors and the administration process began, Interserve’s business divisions have been consolidated through a major restructuring process that sees trade debts to suppliers upheld and services fully operational.
Contracts undertaken with Interserve Plc’s subsidiaries remain valid as a result of this “Pre-Pack” administration process, with Interserve contracts held by Interserve trading entities preserved through their transfer of ownership to a new unlisted Parent Company (Interserve Group Limited) under the ownership of Interserve’s bank creditors. This deal of swapping £485m of Interserve Plc’s £631.2M debt to the banks for ownership of the business was part of an agreement with the Interserve board. That leaves the majority of what debt was left on the balance sheet of Interserve’s most profitable construction materials division: RMD Kwikform. A further debt facility of £110m was to be created to give the group enough working capital to manage cash flow commitments.
Whiteling joined Interserve in October 2017 from Premier Farnell PLC, after the problematic waste-to-energy plant projects that in large part led to Interserve’s later debt trouble.
Remarking on Mark Whiteling’s departure Debbie White, Chief Executive of Interserve Group Limited said: “Mark’s contribution and dedication to the company since his appointment in October 2017 have been outstanding. He played a key role in the deleveraging plan and the wider transformation of the Group including the ‘Fit for Growth’ programme. We wish him well for the future.”
Interserve’s Board has stated that the new company will continue to implement its 2017 – Fit for Growth restructuring programme, which it has been claimed will eliminate £40m-£50m in costs each year from 2021.
Speaking about his time at Interserve, Whiteling said: “It has been a great pleasure to work alongside Debbie and the Executive team, as well as colleagues across the company. I am proud of the work we have achieved strengthening Interserve’s balance sheet and ensuring that the company has strong foundations for the future.”