Alstom supplier collapses into administration

A company which paints new rail carriages at Alstom’s troubled Litchurch Lane site in Derby has finally called in administrators.

The move comes after the firm posted two notices of intention to appoint admininistrators last month.

Now, Interpath has been brought in to look after the day-to-day running of the firm.

Chris Pole and Ryan Grant from Interpath Advisory have reached agreement with the Company’s major customer, Alstom, which will enable the business to continue to trade while they continue to explore the options available. As a result, all of the Company’s circa 60 employees have been retained by the joint administrators to facilitate this strategy.

Pole, managing director at Interpath Advisory, said: “We’d like to extend thanks to Alstom, as well as the company’s employees and wider stakeholders for their support which is allowing us to trade the business while we assess options.”

The Paintbox Group had also posted a NOI for its Paintbox Banbury business, which paints and assembles full vehicle and lightweight car body panels. The facility specialises in bespoke vehicle painting and coating of carbon and composite materials.

However, this part of the business was recently sold to PB Editions, a subsidiary of Brightborough Group.

The news comes at a worrying time for all staff at Alstom’s Derby site. The train builder could be set to shed 1,300 jobs and is in the middle of a staff consultation after it emerged that the UK’s largest rail assembly planthas no orders beyond the first three months of next year.

Alstom is set to start work on trains for the London to Birmingham HS2 line in late 2026, but there remains a sizeable workload gap at the factory.