Jobs have been lost after a roofing contractor headquartered in Greater Manchester entered administration.
Restructuring firm Begbies Traynor has confirmed that it was appointed to oversee the process at Heywood-based Avonside Group on Wednesday, September 7.
In a statement, the firm said Avonside "experienced a period of disrupted trading during the pandemic" and had operated 39 branches across its three divisions.
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It added that the group "has been unable to secure the necessary funding from existing stakeholders, or third parties, to effect the required turnaround and enable continuation of trade in the current form".
The joint administrators confirmed they have secured the future of nine Avonside Roofing branches, preserving 79 jobs via an administration sale to an industry buyer.
However, Begbies Traynor has been unable to "find suitable buyers for the remaining roofing and plumbing sites within the group and as such all remaining roofing and plumbing branches are expected to be closed imminently".
A spokesman for Begbies Traynor said: "Kirstie Provan and Gary Shankland were appointed as joint administrators to Avonside Group Services Limited, along with a number of trading subsidiaries including Avonside Roofing Limited on 7 September 2022.
"The group, which is the largest roofing contractor in the UK, provides specialist roofing, energy and plumbing services to the UK’s housebuilding industry, operates 39 branches across its three divisions, Avonside Roofing, Avonside Energy and Avonside Plumbing.
"The group experienced a period of disrupted trading during the pandemic which, alongside margin squeeze, the impact of underperforming divisions and financial reporting issues, resulted in a requirement for extended working capital facilities.
"Despite extensive efforts from the management team, shareholders and advisors, the group has been unable to secure the necessary funding from existing stakeholders, or third parties, to effect the required turnaround and enable continuation of trade in the current form.
"Following an accelerated sale process, the joint administrators have secured the future of nine Avonside Roofing branches, preserving 79 jobs via an administration sale to an industry buyer, which will see this part of the business continue as a going concern.
"Despite a positive outcome for a number of the group’s roofing branches, the difficult macro-economic backdrop and market conditions meant that the joint administrators were unable to find suitable buyers for the remaining roofing and plumbing sites within the group and as such all remaining roofing and plumbing branches are expected to be closed imminently.
"The group’s energy division continues to operate out of its seven branches whilst negotiations continue to sell this division solvently.
"Negotiations are advanced and it is hoped that these will be concluded successfully over the next 24 hours."
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