December 5

Maxwell's empire is ?bn in debt

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Administrators have been called in to try to salvage the Maxwell business empire, which is at least ?bn in debt.

At 1100 GMT two sons of the late business tycoon Robert Maxwell, Kevin and Ian, called in administrators from accountants Arthur Andersen as the enormity of their father's financial difficulties emerged.

Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) today revealed Mr Maxwell, who died a month ago, removed ?50m from its pension fund in the weeks before his death apparently without proper authority.

Administrators will take over Headington Investments and Robert Maxwell Group, the senior UK companies at the heart of his business empire.

They head a network of 400 private firms including AGB International, The European Newspaper and The New York Daily News.

Through the two key companies the Maxwells own 51% of MGN.

The family also owns 68% of Maxwell Communication Corporation (MCC).

Administrators have three months to prepare a disposal plan for approval by banks and other creditors.

Joint administrator John Talbot said: "We are looking at a strategy where by we maintain the businesses which are good and viable and at the moment we are looking to sell those."

Some analysts predict the Maxwell business empire could be sold off by the spring, saying there is almost no question of a rescue.

Maxwell's private companies could be worth ?bn but the debts total ?.4bn.

MGN is valued at ?00m at its suspended share price but in an auction it could fetch much more.

But it has debts of ?50m and faces questions about the millions of pounds missing from its pension fund.

The other publicly quoted company, MCC, is worth ?27m at its last share price, but like the private companies its debts total ?.4bn.

It was the Swiss Bank which triggered the crisis when it called in the Serious Fraud Office and put a receiver into a subsidiary of Headington Investments.

The bank had discovered the security the bank was owed had been sold -contraveningthe loan agreement.    

Mrs Thatcher: Party leader since 1975

But it was not the outright win commentators expected as one in six MPs did not vote for her.

A total of 314 of the 374 Tory MPs eligible to vote endorsed Mrs Thatcher, while 33 voted for Sir Anthony.

Twenty-seven deliberately spoilt their ballot or abstained.

Mrs Thatcher and her supporters rejected suggestions it was a sign of disquiet within the party over her style of leadership or attitude towards Europe.

Appearing outside Number 10 the Prime Minister made a public address but refused to answer any questions.

"I would like to say how very pleased I am with this result and how very pleased I am to have had the overwhelming support of my colleagues in the House and the people from the party in the country," she said.

She refused to comment any further saying it was business as usual.

Sir Anthony said he was delighted with the result.

"The total result I think is rather better than I had expected," he said.

The challenge against Mrs Thatcher comes at the end of her worst six months in power.

Many Tories blame her anti-Europe stance for Labour's victory over the party in the European Parliament earlier this year - their first national election victory since 1974.

She also fell out with Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe during the European Summit in Madrid over British membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism.

But it was when Chancellor Nigel Lawson resigned over this and more fundamental issues concerning sterling that whispers of a leadership challenge began.

Tory party chairman Kenneth Baker has insisted Mrs Thatcher has widespread support.

"What the Conservative Party has decided today is that they want to be led into the 1990s and the next election by Margaret Thatcher," Mr Baker said.

contravene: go against, as of rules and laws（違反）