Dubai: One UAE construction company is making progress with its turnaround plan.
Drake & Scull International will be calling a meeting of all its creditors next month, where they will be shown a restructuring plan and then have to vote on it. The date has not yet been confirmed.
The company will then disclose the results of the voting after obtaining approval of relevant government authorities and the Securities and Commodities Authority.
All creditor claims will be publicised before the New Year. With this, the company, which is battling huge debts and accumulated losses of Dh5 billion plus, hopes to start on the second phase of the restructuring plan.
Drake & Scull will be hoping to avoid the step Arabtec took, when its Board of Directors and a majority of shareholders decided it was better to head into liquidation than try and continue.
Extensive talks
The MEP company, one of the biggest in the region until financial worries overtook it last year, has in recent months been going through an extensive plan to ensure its survival. It was in August last year that the full extent of the troubles at the Dubai company became apparent, when it revealed that accumulated losses had reached more than Dh5 billion.
The company had gone through several rounds of talks with lenders to come up with a settlement on dues and the repayment on them. No confirmation is available on the status of these talks.
Instead, a statement said: "We would like to inform the shareholders that the operations of the company and its subsidiaries are still ongoing and its projects are under execution, especially the Al Reem Mall [in Abu Dhabi] and contracts for the company's operating in water and energy in many countries. The company will keep the shareholders informed with the latest developments related to projects and the restructuring process."
