MyHome Suspended On AIM After Lloyds Pulls The Plug

Independent:

Lloyds Bank has pulled the plug on MyHome International, the nationwide franchise operator providing residential services such as cleaning and gardening to thousands of families.

The bank demanded immediate repayment yesterday of an £8m loan. The company said it was unable to pay and suspended dealings in its shares on the AIM market.

MyHome has more than 900 franchisees. Their immediate future is uncertain. The company owes its present plight to over-ambitious expansion. But it has also been hit by what it calls “cash-rich, time-poor” householders who are having to rein in their spending because of the credit crunch.

Alarm bells began ringing in June when the company, now with a new executive team, flagged up a deteriorating financial position and warned that pressure on household budgets would affect results for the rest of the year.

The following month it said that it was in breach of its banking covenants and was in discussions with Lloyds Bank which said it remained “committed” to a restructuring of its £8m facility.

But that proved to be a pipe dream and the bank has decided it is no longer willing to support the company which has also been in talks with unnamed financiers.

Franchisees who have paid thousands of pounds to join the MyHome network could lose heavily. More.