Losses of £1m plunged Derby manufacturer into administration

EPM Composites, the company bought out of administration by Graham Mulholland in December, had racked up losses of almost £1m since it was taken over by its previous owners in December 2017.

According the documents seen by TheBusinessDesk.com, in the autumn of last year, the previous owners of EPM had received verbal confirmation from existing customers that sales during the first quarter of 2020 would be around £900,000 with future orders in the region of £8m. Despite this, the cash had run out and the business was unsustainable.

Administrators from Duff & Phelps were then called in and a deal to sell the company to Mulholland and a private investor was sealed at the end of November.

Mulholland, who led EPM Technologies for 21 years, rescued its successor by buying it, along with investor Andrzej Kurowski, for £210,000 in a move that has saved 41 jobs. It is now called Mulholland Composites.

In December he told TheBusinessDesk.com that he must hit targets and that he has unfinished business at the company.

He said: “The first thing we have to do is secure a bank account – and what an unbelievable unnecessary load of rubbish that’s been!

“Next, we have to secure the customer base hit the P&L forecast for the next three months at all costs.”

Mulholland said that cash generation is now high on his list of priorities. He added: “This will give the business breathing space and the foundation to push forward.

“We have a few unfinished things to prove and we’re linked to a number of high profile projects which are coming through.”