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PR firm sold in pre-pack deal

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21st Feb 2013
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Chantrey Vellacott DFK administrators have helped to rescue a West Midlands PR firm that faced a financial crisis after a former employee stole nearly £200,000.

Cannock-based Ward Lovett Advertising and PR, which was put into administration by its directors, has been sold to Kerst Limited in a pre-pack administration, through which a company enters and leaves an administration process almost instantly.

Craig Povey and Kevin Murphy, partners and restructuring specialists at accountancy firm Chantrey Vellacott DFK, were appointed administrators and managed the sale of the company to Kerst.

Ward Lovett was run by two directors, one of whom, Kerst Ward, set up Kerst Limited. Ward Lovett employs around 12 staff at its offices at Kingswood Lakeside in Cannock.

The new entity has retained the web presence and logo of its predecessor, but now appears as Interactive Ward Lovett, a trading name of Kerst Limited.

Craig Povey, partner at Chantrey’s Birmingham office, said Ward Lovett was a strong business but had struggled to meet liabilities to HMRC after the theft of nearly £200,000 from a former company treasurer between 2006 and 2010.

The former employee is understood to have been jailed in July 2011 after the offences came to light following a company merger, Chantrey said.

Ward Lovett was performing well before the fraud and the liabilities to HMRC, Povey said.

“The reality is that any small business would struggle to come to terms with nearly £200,000 being stolen from its accounts, and the underlying business has the potential to be profitable again.”

The firm had a built a strong reputation and has a string of lucrative contracts with major brands but had struggled following the theft, he said.

Kerst Ward commented: “After a particularly difficult couple of years, because of forces beyond our control, we are now focused on putting the brand back on track.”

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