Accuma chief executive makes bid to go private
ACCUMA Group chief executive Charles Howson has launched a £5m bid to take the debt management company private.
Howson, who bought Accuma in 2003, has teamed up with the Manchester-based financial services company Zeus Group to pay 15.5p a share for Accuma, 88 per cent higher than Monday’s closing price.
The deal has already received the backing of investors owning a combined 29 per cent of the business, which provides bankruptcy, loans and mortgage broking services as well as debt management plans.
Accuma, which announced in August that bid talks were underway, listed on Aim in March 2005 and its shares reached highs of more than 300p. In May, the company sold its individual voluntary arrangement businesses to accountancy firm Grant Thornton for £5.6m, leaving consumer debt management specialist B&K as its only trading asset.