Jobs have been saved at a Northumberland building supplies company following the rapid sale of the business to new owners.
Wack Wholesale (Building Supplies) Ltd, based on the Nelson Industrial Estate in Cramlington, has grown to become one of the UK’s largest buyers and sellers of building materials since it was incorporated in 2010. However, it ran into financial difficulties this year due to the impacts of Covid on cashflow and the supply chain.
By this summer, the company was trying to keep afloat while paying wages due in September, putting the firm’s staff at risk of losing their salaries. Iain Nairn and Hilary Pascoe, advisors with Manchester based Leonard Curtis business rescue and recovery, met Wack Wholesale’s accountants in mid-August and were appointed as joint administrators of the company on September 1.
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With the administrators’ guidance a quick sale was secured to new owners, protecting 14 jobs at the company. All 14 staff roles have been transferred under TUPE to the buyer. Under the terms of the sale the buyer and deal value is confidential.
A team from WBD’s restructuring and insolvency department advised Leonard Curtis on the sale of the business and assets, and on their appointment as administrators of the company. Leonard Curtis joint administrator Iain Nairn said: “There are a number of good businesses who are suffering challenging trading conditions at the moment.
“Being open-minded about the opportunities available to (Wack Wholesale) allowed us to identify a willing and able buyer who was able to complete a purchase within seven days of formalising an offer for the business. The buyer and the new company are now well placed to grow the business over the coming years.
“We are grateful to Kelly Jordan and the team at Womble Bond Dickinson in Newcastle for their support with the transaction and appointment formalities, as well as Cerberus Asset Management who assisted with valuations and the sales process.”
Julian Gill, partner in the restructuring and insolvency team at WBD, said: “We are pleased to have supported Iain Nairn and the team at Leonard Curtis on this transaction, which has safeguarded the future of one of the UK’s largest business supplies companies.”
