Labour-hire company Bluestone Recruitment collapses, jobs saved
6 August 2014
Australian-owned global company Bluestone Recruitment has gone into external administration after shareholders failed to back a $4m (£2.2m) rights issue, but workers already have new jobs.
Wed, 6 Aug 2014
Australian-owned global company Bluestone Recruitment has gone into external administration after shareholders failed to back a $4m (£2.2m) rights issue, but workers already have new jobs.
Australian media reports say a company-issued statement said it was “unsuccessful in securing the necessary shareholder support to repair its balance sheet”.
The Australian reported the shareholders giving only $15k instead of the $4m needed to keep the company afloat. It said the rights issue arose after a restructure earlier this year raised money to pay off tax debt.
It also said the company’s problems began after a series of rapid acquisitions were poorly integrated, resulting in high overheads and losses for the last three years.
Various media reports say the company had a market value of $2m to $5m before it appointed KordaMentha as administrators on Monday or Tuesday – the reports were unclear on exact timing and value.
It employed about 180 staff at 16 locations around Australia, mainly in the labour hire, mining services and professional recruitment sectors, and had about 3,500 workers on its books.
A statement from KordaMentha, issued today, said it had entered into an agreement with Hoban Recruitment, also Australian-owned, meaning “the vast majority of Bluestone’s on-hire staff and 180 employees will be back in work almost immediately”.
KordaMentha will also be acting as liquidator for most of Bluestone’s subsidiary companies.
Australian-owned global company Bluestone Recruitment has gone into external administration after shareholders failed to back a $4m (£2.2m) rights issue, but workers already have new jobs.
Australian media reports say a company-issued statement said it was “unsuccessful in securing the necessary shareholder support to repair its balance sheet”.
The Australian reported the shareholders giving only $15k instead of the $4m needed to keep the company afloat. It said the rights issue arose after a restructure earlier this year raised money to pay off tax debt.
It also said the company’s problems began after a series of rapid acquisitions were poorly integrated, resulting in high overheads and losses for the last three years.
Various media reports say the company had a market value of $2m to $5m before it appointed KordaMentha as administrators on Monday or Tuesday – the reports were unclear on exact timing and value.
It employed about 180 staff at 16 locations around Australia, mainly in the labour hire, mining services and professional recruitment sectors, and had about 3,500 workers on its books.
A statement from KordaMentha, issued today, said it had entered into an agreement with Hoban Recruitment, also Australian-owned, meaning “the vast majority of Bluestone’s on-hire staff and 180 employees will be back in work almost immediately”.
KordaMentha will also be acting as liquidator for most of Bluestone’s subsidiary companies.
