Hole-in-the-wall gang make pounds 12m withdrawal

THE "HOLE in the wall" cash dispenser, or at least queuing up at one, may have become a bane of modern-day life. But for Killby and Gayford, the family-owned refurbishment and security specialists, they are a way of making money as well as dispensing it.

The London-based company, Britain's leading installer of the cash machines, or ATMs as they are known, was yesterday bought by its management for pounds 12m in a deal financed by 3i and Bank of Scotland.

Pictured (left to right) are group managing director Terry Smith, Stephen Keating of 3i and Chris Chivers, managing director (building), at the headquarters of the news and financial services group Bloomberg where Killby and Gayford is carrying out a major refurbishment. The business has been under the same family ownership for four generations since its foundation in 1860. The buyout will make a multi-millionaire out of the current chairman and controlling shareholder, Michael May.