Martin Dawes sold in pre-pack deal

NORTH West TV rental company Martin Dawes has been sold to its founder after a pre-pack adminstration, which has caused 90 job losses.

The £11m tunover business, which has its head office in Warrington, was launched in Stockport in the 1970s to tap into the growing demand for colour TVs.

The company has stores across the North West as well as a significant online presence.

Administrators Les Ross and David Riley, from accountancy firm Grant Thornton in Manchester said nine stores had been closed in Birkenhead, Bury, Preston, St Helens, Stockport, Manchester, Wigan, Shrewsbury and one in Scotland, although the Warrington head office remains open.

They added that 99 jobs had been saved as a result of the sale.

The TV rental business will continue to trade. The insolvency deal does not affect the other businesses in the Martin Dawes Group, including Martin Dawes Solutions, which provides video conferencing facilities to courts, and Martin Dawes Systems which provides billing for some of the world’s largest mobile phones companies.

David Riley said: “The business recently branched out into the TV sales market and has struggled significantly in that area.

“Historically, Martin Dawes has always been associated with TV rental and this side of the business has remained buoyant.

“The pre-pack disposal was the best option in these circumstances in terms of saving as many jobs as possible and also maintaining services to the 50,000 rental customers, who, we would like to stress, are completely unaffected by this announcement.”