More jobs go as Apollo collapses

ADMINISTRATORS have been appointed to Apollo 2000, a gas and electrical appliance retailer with shops in Blackpool and Preston.

Apollo has 12 shops, most of them in the Midlands, that have now closed. Administrator KPMG said the “majority” of the firm’s 180 staff have been made redundant.

A sister company Arrow Distributors, which supplied appliances to house builders, has also collapsed with the loss of 92 jobs. Both businesses are part of the Worcester-based Cranham Group.

Nick Barrett, chairman of the Cranham Group, said: “After 38 years this is a sad day for the Cranham Group and the Apollo 2000 and Arrow Distributors businesses. Despite our best efforts to secure a sale we were ultimately left with no choice but to request the appointment of administrators.”

Cranham has one other trading subsidiary, Apuro Limited, which is currently unaffected.

Will Wright of KPMG said: “The group has been adversely impacted by the downturn in the property market and the general decline in retail sales. Despite the directors’ best efforts to secure a sale or refinancing of the group and its trading subsidiaries prior to our appointment, they have been unsuccessful.”