Thu, 07 Sep 2023 | ADMINISTRATION
Leather manufacturer Pittards, one of the oldest companies in Somerset, is to close down after a buyer could not be found for the business. The company initiated a sale process last month and said it was set to appoint administrators following a failed fundraising in July.
The nearly-200-year-old firm had sought to raise £1.16 million in an effort to avoid administration and continue trading in the face of falling demand since COVID-19 and soaring energy prices for manufacturers across the UK. However, these efforts were terminated after the business only raised an insufficient £300,000.
Lucy Winterborne and Dan Hurd of EY-Parthenon were subsequently appointed as joint administrators to the listed company on September 4. Despite hopes that a buyer could be found, a rescue deal could not be secured and the business has ceased trading, with the loss of over 130 jobs.
In a statement, the joint administrators said: “Extensive discussions were held with an interested party to achieve a sale of the company’s business and assets but, unfortunately, the prospective buyer was unable to conclude an agreement with its debt funder to allow a sale to proceed.”
“As no other party has expressed an interest in acquiring the business, the company has now ceased to trade with immediate effect and sadly, the majority of the company’s UK employees have been made redundant.”
The joint administrators added that they “will assess options over the coming days to realise value for the company’s creditors and wind down the company’s business.”
In Pittards’ accounts at Companies House for 2021, it reported revenue of £19.66 million, up from £15.23 million a year earlier, while it improved from an EBITDA loss of £1.16 million in 2020 to EBITDA of £1.42 million. At the time, its net assets were valued at £13.07 million.
The company was founded in 1826 and employed close to 150 staff at its UK facility, along with around 1,000 staff in Ethiopia. The firm manufactured products for third party brands and its own Daines & Hathaway and Hill & Friends brands and was known for producing gloves for the Royal Family.
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