With Christmas only seven weeks away, we’re into the last leg of the year.
So whether you’re sprinting to the finish with a big lead over your competitors or just making it to the finish line is an accomplishment – we’ve got all the important and interesting business and insolvency news stories you might have missed from the past seven days right here to catch up on.
If you want to know what practical steps a business can take if it receives a CCJ; everything you need to know about bailiffs and their legal powers and why one in five UK pubs are technically insolvent – you can read all these stories and more at our advice centre page.
Builders’ Merchant Company
A construction industry supplier that has been supplying builders in Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire for nearly 90 years has gone into administration with the loss of 26 positions.
The Builders’ Merchant Company operated outlets in Hull, Goole and Rotherham as well as their Scunthorpe headquarters.
Founded in 1928, the business was purchased as part of a management buyout in 2021 but had been subject to a winding up petition from creditors Close Invoice Finance in September.
A statement from the board of directors said: “Unfortunately the construction industry continues to face extremely challenging conditions and the knock-on effect of that is being felt by suppliers including Builders’ Merchant company.
“Administrators are now working hard to maximise the value of the company’s assets to ensure the best possible return for creditors.”
The company was once the largest independent timber and building supplies supplier in Lincolnshire. It joined forces with Grimsby timber importer Winteringham Brothers during the Second World War and was known as Harrison and Jewitt before returning to trading under the Builders’ Merchant Company name in 2011.
Completely Motoring
A large South West new and used vehicle group has gone into administration.
Completely Motoring along with John Wilkins (Motor Engineers) and Thunder Road Motorcycles employed 165 staff across 14 showrooms in 11 locations.
A statement from the group said they are looking to secure a rescue deal for all three businesses. It said: “Unfortunately, the group has encountered financial difficulties after a poor summer sales period. As a result, the group has been placed into administration to protect it.
“We are currently exploring sales options with interested parties and have already received several expressions of interest with a view to securing a future for the group and saving as much of the business and as many jobs as possible.”
Revitalise
Britain’s only specialist respite holiday provider for severely disabled people and their carers is to close because of financial difficulties placing 190 jobs at risk.
Revitalise operated two specially adapted hotels, one in Southport and the other in Chigwell, that provided 24-hour care but said that local authority cuts combined with increased running costs and a fall in donations meant it was no longer viable to operate claiming the financial challenges were “insurmountable”.
In a message to guests and donors the charity said it hoped its closure would highlight the “critical state of affairs” in social care and the diminishing availability of funding for respite care.
Revitalise confirmed they were not insolvent but “diabolical” financial projections for the next few months meant it would have been unable to meet its financial obligations and trustees concluded that its long-term survival was impossible.
Along with most care providers, they had suffered from shortages of care staff leading to unsustainable bills for agency workers with a weekly fee of a stay at the hotel being as much as £3,000 – this was out of reach for most guests with many local authorities increasingly unable to contribute to the cost.
They confirm that they would honour bookings up to November 25th.
Chief Executive Jan Tregelles issued a statement which said: “It is with great sadness that Revitalise must announce that the difficult decision has been made to close the charity. Despite every effort to ensure our survival, the financial challenges we face have become insurmountable.
“We are deeply sorry that as the UK’s last remaining provider of holidays with 24-hour care for people with complex disabilities, we cannot continue in operation. It remains our lasting hope that policymakers take heed of the critical state of affairs in the social care sector and ensure that respite is properly funded.”
Kettle Home
A furniture importer and seller based in the East Midlands has collapsed after rising shipping costs made it impossible to continue trading.
Kettle Home in Corby, Northamptonshire has ceased trading with immediate effect meaning 80 posts have been made redundant.
The firm was incorporated in April 2023 following the administration of Kettle Interiors which had been importing and supplying wholesale furniture to the trade and public for more than 30 years previously.
A statement from the business said that the retail furniture sector has suffered in recent years after struggling to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
It said: “This, together with a sharp rise in the costs of shipping, has made Kettle Home unsustainable, with the business unable to afford to continue to trade.
“The directors and shareholders have, therefore, reluctantly taken the decision to place it into voluntary liquidation and the business has ceased to trade.
“The furniture trade has faced some extremely challenging times and with much of Kettle’s stock imported from Asia, the escalating costs of shipping were simply too high for Kettle Home Ltd to be able to continue trading. Other trading costs and the rise in economic costs has meant that the existing business model was not sustainable.”
HBS Group Southern
A Hampshire-based mechanical and electrical (M&E) specialist has gone into administration after more than 70 years of trading.
HBS Group Southern was founded in 1950 initially operating as a plumbing and heating contractor providing services across Hampshire. The company was a third generation family firm with the grandson of the founder operating as Managing Director.
The company expanded to become a major M&E specialist in the south of England providing specialist services throughout the region and working with most of the major housing developers on projects across the area. Despite becoming well-established, the group has been hit by a number of headwinds impacting the wider construction industry over recent years.
According to directors, HBS had “a strong pipeline of work” coming out of the pandemic but “exceptional” material price increases occurring “almost on a monthly basis” meant that these did not deliver profits.
In addition to the impact of material cost increases, the company also cited “a significant slowdown in developers decision making process” amid the rise of flexible work post-pandemic which impacted its ability to win work.
No matter how your business is performing, there are still decisions and changes you can make to see improvements and strengthen your hand in the remaining ten weeks of 2024.
Whatever your goals, the sooner you get in touch with us to arrange a free initial consultation, the sooner you can begin to implement whatever you and our advisors agree will get you closer to them.