All jobs saved during urgent sale of Northumberland building supplies company
The rapid sale of a Northumberland building supplies business has protected everyone on the company payroll – saving 24 (twenty-four) jobs in total.
Wack Wholesale (Building Supplies) Ltd – which operates out of Nelson Park Industrial Estate in Cramlington – has been one of the UK’s largest buyer/seller of building materials, but ran into financial difficulties this year due to the impacts of Covid on cashflow and the supply chain.
By the summer of 2022, the company was teetering on a cliff edge, struggling to find a way to survive whilst paying wages due in September 2022 – meaning staff faced the prospect of losing salaries amid the cost of living crisis.
Leonard Curtis’ Iain Nairn and Hilary Pascoe met Wack Wholesale’s accountants in mid-August and were appointed as joint administrators of the company on 1 September 2022 – coming in to protect jobs and create opportunities for the business going forward.
Under Leonard Curtis’ guidance, an urgent sale was completed – protecting value in the business for creditors and guaranteeing no jobs were lost.
All 14 staff roles have been transferred under TUPE to the buyer.
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.”
