A Kent-based contractor has fallen into administration.
The £16m-turnover Coombs (Canterbury) Limited called in joint administrators Thomas D’Arcy and Christopher Latos of White Maund Insolvency Practitioners on 30 November 2020.
According to its website, Coombs worked across the commercial, education, healthcare, heritage, housebuilding and leisure sectors. Its list of clients included Canterbury Christ Church University, Cath Kidston, Royal Mail, Shell and Ford. The company had also completed work on landmarks such as Dover Castle and Canterbury Cathedral.
The contractor s most recent financial results, for the year ended 31 July 2018, showed the business made an £88,907 pre tax profit on revenue of £16.06m. Trade creditors were owed £3.09m in cash due within one year. The results also state that the directors provided personal guarantees of up to £65,000. Overdraft facilities had been secured by way of a mortgage for an undisclosed asset.
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Researchers from the University of Kent have developed a computer algorithm that can identify differences in cancer cell lines based on microscopic images, a unique development towards ending misidentification of cells in laboratories.
Cancer cell lines are cells isolated and grown as cell cultures in laboratories for study and developing anti-cancer drugs. However, many cell lines are misidentified after being swapped or contaminated with others, meaning many researchers may work with incorrect cells.
This has been a persistent problem since work with cancer cell lines began. Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis is commonly used to identify cancer cell lines, but is expensive and time-consuming. Moreover, STR cannot discriminate between cells from the same person or animal.