John Moulton ‘on verge’ of buying coal miner ATH

By PETER RANSCOMBE
Published on 11/02/2013 00:00

VETERAN venture capitalist John Moulton is expected to buy coal miner ATH Resources “within the next fortnight”, according to a report in a
Sunday newspaper.

The Scotsman revealed in December that Moulton’s Better Capital private equity outfit was in talks to rescue the mining firm, which is based in Doncaster but has all five of its open-cast mines north of the Border.

Up to £15 million could change hands under complex negotiations with land owners, according to the weekend report.

ATH Resources’ Aim-quoted holding company was placed in administration in December, a month after Better Capital had bought up £15m of its debt.

In December, Moulton’s private equity firm told The Scotsman: “The administration is part of the process of securing a future for the company. Genuinely, Better Capital never asset strips.”

Better Capital did not return calls for comment yesterday.

Moulton made a name for himself in the 1990s when he led the management buy-out of what became UK Coal.