Luxury shopfitting firm collapsed owing almost £4m
Leicester manufacturing and luxury shopfitting firm Clements owed over £3.8m to creditors when it hit the wall and called in administrators in October, according to documents seen by TheBusinessDesk.com.
Clements called in PKF Smith Cooper on October 4 after a cocktail of rising prices and its bank, HSNC, withdrawing financial support brought down the firm, which designed, manufactured and installed luxury retail interiors, as well as providing marketing, brand and logistical support to global manufacturers.
TheBusinessDesk.com exclusively revealed that Clements had first posted a notice of intention to appointment administrators back in September last year.
In its latest accounts, made up to the end of June 2021, the firm said it had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and that it had undergone a “comprehensive strategic review”. Clements said it had suffered a slowdown in revenues during the period that was not matched by a reduction in overheads – although it forecast that over the course of the next two years revenues would begin to be rebuilt.
PKF Smith Cooper said the company experienced “significant” financial losses in 2020 and 2021 as a result of reduced demand, project delays and customer bad debt caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately Clements was unable to recover and PKF Smith Cooper was appointed to deal with the business and its assets.
To mitigate against the fall in turnover, Clements closed its Sheene Road site in Leicester, which was sold for £2.5m, cut staff and ceased manufacturing operations.
Losses in 2021 amounted to almost £2m – up from £135,700 in 2021. At the time the firm employed 64 people – but this figure had dropped significantly when administrators were called in and made 25 people redundant.
