Beleaguered home services and motor franchising group Myhome International has gone into administration.

Roy Bailey and Angela Swarbrick, both of accountant Ernst & Young, have been appointed joint administrators to the Esher-based company, whose entrepreneurial chief executive Russell O'Connell and chairman Jon Pither have resigned, along with the company’s nominated adviser Noble & Co. Myhome, once an AIM high-flier, warned in July that it had broken some covenants on an £8 million banking facility from Lloyds TSB, and a week ago asked for its shares to be suspended at a lowly 5p after the bank issued a demand notice for immediate repayment of all the money owed.

At that time, Myhome said it was ‘actively pursuing’ an offer from a potential new investor to replace its bank debt and inject new equity, and close observers suggest that a potential deal was thought to be only days away. But patience clearly ran out.

Myhome, whose shares hit 106p last year, blamed the overall consumer slowdown and credit tightening for interim losses of £3.8 million. However, some critics suggested that it had overpaid in last November’s £16 million purchase of the ChipsAway repair franchise group and were critical of O'Connell's ebullient management approach.

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Myhome International	AIM	0pm	p	p
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Other company articles:
Myhome bites the dust			09/09/2008
Myhome breaches covenants			22/07/2008
New home for Pither			03/03/2008
Positive signs for plus			03/03/2008
Further expansion at MyHome			04/02/2008