UK administrations update: February 28 - March 5

Since our last update, the following businesses have been confirmed as having fallen into administration. All dates indicate when the administration was posted by the Gazette and not necessarily the dates on which administrators were appointed.

Volume Group Limited – February 28
Volume Group Limited, a B2B marketing firm specialising in digital content and immersive technologies, fell into administration last month, with Chris Newell and Tim Sloggett of Quantuma Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

In its accounts for the year to March 31 2023, the Reading-based company’s fixed assets were valued at just shy of £2 million and current assets at £1.4 million. However, its debts at the time stood at more than £4.1 million, with net liabilities amounting to £1.3 million.

Find out more about M&A in the professional services industries

Greenshires Group Limited – February 29
Greenshires Group Limited, a printing and packaging firm based in Leicester, has fallen into administration amid mounting distress in the printing sector. The company, which can trace its roots back to 1963, has appointed John Lowe and Nathan Jones of FRP Advisory as joint administrators.

In its accounts for the year ending March 31 2023, the company’s fixed assets were valued at slightly over £2 million and current assets at around £1.9 million. At the time, its net liabilities stood at £55,778.

Read about the latest trends in manufacturing M&A

Heightvale Limited – February 29
Heightvale Limited, a building restorations firm based in Lancashire, fell into administration in February, appointing Kroll Advisory’s Steven Muncaster and Michael Lennon as joint administrators. In its accounts to June 30 2022, the company’s total assets were valued at around £5 million, with total equity standing at £1.6 million.

Bullitt Group Limited – February 29
Bullitt Group Limited, which trades as Bullitt, a ruggedised smartphone maker, fell into administration at the end of February, with David Baxendale and Tom Crookham of PwC appointed as joint administrators.

Based in Reading, the company produced ruggedised smartphones with brands including JCB, Land Rover and Caterpillar, it also developed the Moto-branded rugged devices with Motorola and produced the Cat S75 satellite messaging phone and the Bullitt Satellite Connect service.

However, the company ran into financial difficulties and a proposed rescue deal reportedly fell through earlier this year, leading to the company falling into administration. The group reported turnover of £179.6 million in its accounts for 2021, up from £120.6 million a year earlier, but its post-tax losses widened from £10.8 million to £11.1 million.

At the time, its fixed assets were valued at £9.5 million and current assets at £46.6 million. However, the company owed significant amounts to creditors at the time, with its net liabilities amounting to around £70.5 million.

Jankel Armouring Limited – March 1
Jankel Armouring Limited, a specialist in protection systems for armoured and tactical vehicles, fell into administration in late February, with Michael Denny and Mark Firmin of Alvarez & Marshal appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year ending September 30 2022, it reported that the impact of the war in Ukraine had hampered its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the company also affected by cost-of-living increases, high UK borrowing rates, inflation, high material costs and labour shortages. However, it also noted that it was seeing significant urgent demand for short delivery equipment and long-term demand for replacement equipment.

Its revenue at the time stood at £19.7 million, down by more than half from £43 million a year earlier, while it fell from a profit of £1.6 million to a loss of close to £2.7 million. At the time, its total equity stood at £13.7 million.

Illuminate Technologies UK Limited – March 4
Illuminate Technologies UK Limited, a cybersecurity solutions provider, fell into administration at the end of February, with the Gazette confirming the appointment of Simon Jagger and Mark Supperstone of ReSolve Advisory as joint administrators on March 4.

The firm’s most recent accounts at Companies House cover the year ending December 31 2021, with the company reporting turnover of £9.7 million, down from £12.4 million a year earlier, and pre-tax profits of £1.1 million, down from £2.6 million a year earlier.

According to the company, the decrease in turnover and pre-tax profit was largely as a result of lower product sales at the Illuminate US business, which it said continued to be impacted by COVID-19, which had resulted in “longer sales cycles and a slower conversion of pipeline opportunities into orders.”

Wooldridge Contractors Limited – March 5
Wooldridge Contractors Limited, a Surrey-based contractor specialising in groundworks, civils and contract build projects, fell into administration at the end of February after filing a notice of intention (NOI) to appoint administrators earlier in the month.

Nicholas Simmonds and Chris Newell of Quantuma Advisory were subsequently appointed as joint administrators at the company, which reported turnover of £23.2 million and pre-tax profit of £1.7 million in the year ending January 31 2022. At that time, the company’s fixed assets were valued at £1.6 million and current assets at £15.1 million, with net assets amounting to just under £11 million.

Construction is the industry most affected by rising UK insolvencies - Find out how this is creating opportunities for distressed M&A


Click here to download our free guide on finding and buying distressed businesses and assets

Share this article

Latest Businesses for Sale

View more businesses for sale