50 jobs lost at Trafford furniture maker
A TRAFFORD Park-based furniture maker has been placed into administration leading to the 50 job losses.
Johnson & Johnson Furniture, which is a family-run business that employed 70 staff, made high-end, bespoke furniture for housebuilders. It had suffered a fall off in trade in recent years, with sales dropping from £11.5m in 2008 to £4.8m in 2009.
The company had already entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) two years ago to help with its debts to creditors.
However, once the CVA came into force many of its creditors insisted on pro forma payment terms which put a strain on its cashflow. A further downturn in trading last year led to the business defaulting on the terms of its arrangement.
Steve Muncaster and Sarah Bell from the Manchester office of insolvency firm MCR were appointed as joint administrators to the business on Monday. Shortly after their appointment, they made 50 redundancies and have kept the remaining 20 staff on while they attempt to sell the business.
The administrators have said that anyone interested in buying the business should contact them at the earliest opportunity.
The company is the third high-end furniture maker in the area to face insolvency within the last few weeks.
Macclesfield-based Monk Furniture has closed down and is in the process of being liquidated, while Altrincham-based Tom Howley Bespoke Furniture was sold by administrators Baker Tilly to Neville Johnson Ltd.
Neville Johnson Ltd is now owned by private equity firm Key Capital Partners, but its eponymous founder was the majority shareholder in Johnson & Johnson.
