Jobs lost as lighting business appoints administrators

Harvard Technology, the Normanton-based smart lighting specialist, has appointed administrators after being unable to secure the funding needed to continue to trade.

The company has operated in the lighting industry for the last 25 years, producing LED lighting drivers and engines and providing wireless control solutions for both indoor and outdoor lighting through its EyeNut and LeafNut systems.

On 10 December, Sarah O’Toole and Chris Petts of Grant Thornton UK LLP were appointed as administrators.

The administrators said that there has been “tremendous commitment” to turn the business around and “significant progress” has been made over the last two years.

However, due to the challenging trading conditions and cash flow pressures, the board has been exploring a sale of the business for a number of weeks.

Despite these efforts, the directors were unsuccessful in securing a rescue deal and could not continue to trade given the increasing funding needs.

The Joint Administrators said: “Whilst we continue to explore the possible sale of parts of the business, a number of redundancies have had to be made.

“Whilst these redundancies were unavoidable, such decisions are always difficult, particularly at this time of year.”