Sale saves 83 jobs at Cross Services

ADMINISTRATORS have agreed a sale of St Helens-based mechanical & electrical engineering firm Cross Services in a deal which will save 83 jobs.

Administrators from the Nottingham office of Mazars were appointed to Cross Services Engineering on June 11, with joint administrator Simon Chandler stating that the firm had suffered doe to “the slump in building and engineering work”.

The St Helens-based company, which has been through a number of ownership changes in recent years, had a turnover of around £13m and employed 150 people.

A prolonged period of administration would have placed these posts at risk, but a sale to Warrington-based competitor Boulting Group has allowed for more than half of these jobs to be saved.

Mr Chandler said: “We believed there was sufficient work in progress and value in the business and we are delighted we have been able to achieve a sale to Boulting Group, which has saved the jobs of 83 long-serving employees.”

Despite growing turnover from £12m to £13.1m profits in the year to the end of October fell from £302,407 to £102,885. Cross’ major customers are businesses in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing  sectors.