200 jobs saved in rescue of historic painting and decorating group
A £25m turnover painting and decorating retailer in Bromborough which boasts almost 200 years of history has been bought out of administration saving almost 200 jobs.
Paintwell, based on Bromborough Village Road, can trace its history back to 1838 when Kent Blaxill was founded. Other legacies included Bromborough Paints and Trade 1st.
It boasted a portfolio of 44 branches across the UK.
But Paintwell Stores and industrial paint distributor, Promain, have been acquired out of administration by Sussex-based Brewers Group, for an undisclosed sum.
The new owner said: “We are working closely with Paintwell and the administrators to ensure a smooth transition for store colleagues, customers and all stakeholders involved.”
Brewers Group commercial director, Karl Jones, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “The demise of the Paintwell business is a sad moment for our industry.
“We are grateful to have been able to take on many of their stores along with almost 200 store colleagues.
“We welcome our new colleagues, recognising many of them have been part of the decorating industry for many years.”
He added: “Our priority now is to ensure a smooth transition for both colleagues and customers.”
Brewers is an established family business, founded in Sussex in 1904, serving the trade and the general public with paints, wallpapers and everything needed to carry out a decorating project.
The most recent accounts filed by Paintwell at Companies House, for the year to December 31, 2022, revealed turnover of £24.9m, compared with £15.8m the previous year.
But the company made a pre-tax loss of £2.97m, against a pre-tax profit of £271,335 in 2021, mainly due to an ambitious expansion strategy involving geographical growth in its branch network, as well as acquisitions.
The directors’ notes revealed that sales per employee on an annualised basis were £133,000, down from £140,000.
At the time of preparing the accounts for 2022 the directors said they had a reasonable expectation that the group had adequate resources to continue in operational existence “for the foreseeable future”.
