Dams’ buyers paid nearly £1m

THE family behind the collapsed office furniture business Dams International paid nearly £1m to buy back the assets.

The business, headquartered in Knowsley, Merseyside, failed in September after a sharp sales decline left it unable to service its debts.

According to a newly-filed creditors’ report managers expected turnover of £25m for the year to September 30, down 40% from £42m the previous year.

Dams’ assets, including stock, machinery, customer lists and intellectual property, were sold to Dams Furniture for £965,000. The directors of the new company are Chris Scott, managing director of Dams International and the son of founder Barry Scott, and Melissa Moore, also a director of the insolvent business.

According to the report by administrators at KPMG £365,000 has been paid with the balance spread over the next 16 months. The acquisition saved just 22 of the company’s 327 staff.

The company is still owed £7.5m by customers which Dams Furniture will now collect. Dams International’s lender, and secured creditor, Royal Bank of Scotland Invoice Finance was owed £1.4m but has been repaid.

Unsecured creditors are owed a total of £5.5m, a figure which includes £3.2m to trade creditors and £1.3m to the tax man. Administrators expect a shortfall of £2.7m although they do anticipate paying a dividend, but cannot say when.

Dams International was established in in 1976 and has a London showroom and distribution centres in York, Hertfordshire, Glasgow and Somerset.