UK-based outsourcing firm Interserve has agreed a debt-for-equity swap with lenders in an effort to reduce its £650 million debt pile and avoid a collapse similar to last year’s collapse of UK-based construction giant Carillon, reports The Independent. Control of the company will be handed to lenders such as RBS, HSBC and BNP Paribas, and existing shareholders will be wiped out. It will also see the group’s net debt reduced to £275 million and will alleviate fears that Interserve was on course to follow in Carillon’s footsteps which would cause thousands of job losses, throwing suppliers into turmoil and costing taxpayers £148 million. Rachel Reeves MP, chair of the business, energy and industrial strategy committee, commented, “Interserve and Capita have been teetering on the brink of failure, requiring bailouts from shareholders to stay afloat. Rather than simply transferring the risk around, these businesses and government need to act to fix this broken model of outsourcing and ensure public services are no longer left in the hands of failing businesses.” Interserve is the UK’s biggest supplier of probation and rehabilitation services and holds thousands of cleaning, catering and security contracts.