PwC aiming to break up Accident Group

Administrators of The Accident Group have sent out sales packs detailing how the stricken no win, no fee personal injury company could be broken up and sold off to several interested parties in the hope of raising some cash for its creditors.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, who were appointed just over a week ago after the company ran out of cash, is hoping to sell the business off in three parts. It is offering rivals the chance to buy The Accident Group's IT system, the right to use its 0800 numbers and also a contract to manage the run-off of its outstanding personal injury cases, estimated at about 100,000.

PwC confirmed it has sent details of the company's business to "interested parties". It refused to comment on how much it might be able to raise from a sale of the assets.

The move came after speculation that a group of The Accident Group's directors were considering banding together to try to buy the business back out of administration. Barry Neild, former marketing director, said on Radio 4's Today programme that the business was still "viable".

The disintegration of The Accident Group bears many of the hallmarks of the spectacular collapse of Claims Direct, a rival which went into receivership last year. Claims Direct suffered from a barrage of negative publicity after it emerged that thousands of successful claimants were receiving practically nothing because they had to pay for a compulsory insurance premium out of their winnings.

The Accident Group's successful customers may also have to pay for some of their insurance premium out of their winnings, a scenario which will mire its name even further in controversy.