Foot-and-mouth ‘final blow' to Minotel

The foot-and-mouth crisis has caused a major loss of membership at marketing consortium Minotel Great Britain, landing it in the hands of administrators KPMG Corporate Recovery.

Joint administrator Paul Flint, who hopes to sell all or parts of the Blackpool-based consortium as a going concern, said a projected 40% of the group's 130 members looked unlikely to renew their membership because of the epidemic.

Eight of Minotel's 13 UK staff have been made redundant as part of a restructure to allow the company to continue trading while a buyer is sought. Flint said it was too early to evaluate the group's debts, but added that he was talking to a couple of interested parties.

Flint described the ravages of foot-and-mouth as "a final blow" following difficult trading conditions over the past 12 months.