Highbury chairman Kelvin MacKenzie walked away from publisher
Highbury House over Christmas, announcing that he had been defeated by
a “mountain of debt” left over from a three-year spending spree under
the company’s previous bosses.
The former Sun editor, who is
thought to have invested £1.5m in the company, quit following the
collapse of debt management talks and the suspension of Highbury shares
in December.
Remaining staff at the company failed to respond to
requests for comment on the future of the business, although it is
unlikely MacKenzie would have abandoned his investment if there was any
hope of recovering it.
MacKenzie bought a 20 per cent share in
the company in the summer as it struggled to deal with £25m of debts
after a partial buyout by rival Future collapsed after scrutiny from
the OFT, which suspected the deal would give Future too big a stake in
the UK gaming sector.
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