NEARLY 50 enquiries have already been made for the assets of Beanscene, the independent Scottish coffee and music chain that went into administration last week. This level of interest bodes well for the survival of the Glasgow-based business, although so far there have been no concrete offers for the 14-store chain with a turnover of about £4.2 million "The level of interest has been significant and it proves there is value in the Beanscene brand," said Blair Nimmo, the administrator at accountant KPMG, who is conducting the process. He confirmed that there had been 48 notes of interest and that a closing day for bids was likely to be set this week.

Beanscene hit the buffers when it ran out of funds to finance an expansion programme. It is believed the company was paying rental charges on properties for which the fitting out and subsequent openings had been delayed. This led to a collapse in the company's cash flow.

Gordon Richardson, the Beanscene founder who was ousted from the business four months ago, confirmed to the Sunday Herald that he is looking at wresting back his creation. But Richardson is likely to to face stiff competition. Nimmo said he was optimistic and that among those noting interest were well-known entrepreneurs looking to buy the chain outright, individuals keen to purchase single outlets and other business people seeking to buy into a niche brand that has built up a loyal following.

"There are a number of people with capital who can see this as gaining a foothold in the food and drink industry - and Beanscene has created something unique in Scotland," he said.

However, Beanscene has been facing increasing competition from the national and global coffee chains, including Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero, who are in fierce competition in the face of a downturn in consumer spending.

Nimmo said that most of the Beanscenes were in "pretty decent" locations, which would help the sale. However, James Godfrey, a partner at Culverwell, the Scottish commercial property firm, said that while Beanscene was a well-known company with potential he questioned the fact that the outlets were in prime sites.