At the height of the recession, a spate of administrations affected both large and small businesses alike, with the high street suffering from the losses of HMV and GAME particularly. Although the economic forecast has picked up somewhat, it is clear that businesses are still struggling to make ends meet in many cases.
This has been the issue for curtain manufacturer Montgomery Tomlinson, which this week announced that efforts to find a buyer for the stricken firm have failed. As a result, the company has been forced into liquidation, costing more than 500 members of staff their positions.
146 of the affected roles are based in the Bretton warehouse near Broughton, where the primary manufacturing process takes place. However, the bulk of workers affected are based in 123 concessions within department stores such as Debenhams and House of Fraser, with 384 about to become redundant.
Unfortunately, the story only worsens for workers as a further drop in sales has left the firm unable to pay wages for the last working month. Those affected are being urged to contact a helpline operated by administrators in order to receive further information.
Last month, administrators from KPMG stepped in to attempt to resolve the financial issues plaguing the Flintshire-based company and immediately implemented a cessation of trade in order to assess the situation at the small firm. However, according to joint administrator Will Wright, there was no forthcoming interest from buyers or investors and as such the business has been forced to close indefinitely.
He says; “Despite the tireless efforts of the directors to secure a sale of, or investment in the business, over the last four weeks it has been impossible to find a workable solution to enable the company to continue to trade and they have made the difficult decision to appoint administrators.
“As a result of an increasingly competitive marketplace, a fall in sales left Montgomery Tomlinson critically short of cash and unable to meet its liabilities.
“Given the cash position of the business, unfortunately there are insufficient funds to make payments for August salaries and we will be working as hard as possible to assist employees in their claims to the redundancy payments office.”
This situation certainly appears to buck the present manufacturing trend, with the majority of businesses in the sector reporting soaring levels of confidence. However, in the niche market Montgomery Tomlinson operated in, competition from budget firms only exacerbates the falling sales in home wares noted over the past two months across the UK.
With demand for industrial property soaring across the UK as the manufacturing sector goes from strength to strength, there is little doubt that the warehouse itself will be snapped up in the very near future by local investors. However, the question is whether any new business in the area will be able to fill the jobs deficit left by the closure of Montgomery Tomlinson.
