More than 60 jobs have been lost after a North East boiler installation and repair company collapsed due to a crippling shortage of new boilers.
Boiler Plan UK Ltd had been trading well and growing quickly, according to director Ian Henderson, but Covid wrought havoc with the firm's ability to access customers' homes. The pandemic then exacerbated a countrywide shortage of boilers being manufactured, forcing the business to return customer deposits when it could not fulfil orders.
Staff at the firm have been directed to the Government's Redundancy Payments Office and customers have been advised to cancel their direct debit payments to Boiler Plan. Meanwhile director Ian Henderson has exclusively told ChronicleLive of his disappointment at the collapse of the business, which had attracted more than £4m investment in recent years to support its growth.
