The delay of the government's Home Information Packs (HIPs) has claimed its first high-profile casualty.Administrator BDO Stoy Hayward was appointed to First Sellers Pack (FSP) yesterday (1 August), the day the packs were finally introduced. FSP placed the blame for its "cashflow crisis" squarely on the government's shoulders.
According to FSP, it had been "denied" revenues of £250,000 per week since 1 June, when the packs were originally set to be introduced.
"It was Westminster that did all the running on HIPs, and, spotting an opportunity, we rightly built our business around the incoming legislation," said FSP founder Jonathan Moore.
"But the government then pulled the rug from underneath our feet at the 11th hour."
The Fareham, Hampshire-based firm had secured deals worth £61m, but yesterday's introduction of a watered-down HIP scheme for homes with four bedrooms or more proved to be too little too late.
"It is business as usual for HIPs clients here at FSP while administrators search for a buyer. We are confident that will happen within weeks because the business model is so good," said Moore.
Last June, the firm announced a £5.1m investment in premises and 10 Kodak Nexpress digital presses to pre-empt the introduction of HIPs, which were originally going to be compulsory for all home sales. At that time, the firm was targeting a turnover of £25m by the end of 2007.
However, the government's decision to delay and then stagger the introduction of HIPs stretched the firm's finances to breaking point.
Moore said: "For want of £500,000, which would have tided the business over until the contract revenues for the three-bedroom property packs kicked in, we were snookered."
Source: printweek
No comments:
Post a Comment