Ukraine war forces metal supplier into administration

A Dudley supplier of ballast and counterweight products has fallen into administration, due to the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Metalast, which was set up 15 years ago, supplied solutions to the marine, civil engineering, and heavy lifting industries with clients such as Siemens, JLR and Aston Martin.

The business has been severely affected by the war in Ukraine as it halted sales to two of its main markets in Russia and Ukraine.

Turnover was approximately £2.6m in 2022, with the company employing five people from its 20,000 sq ft facility.

Chris Lewis and Diana Frangou of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory were appointed as joint administrators of the firm today. Administrators are seeking a buyer for the business or they will look to sell assets for the benefit of Metalast’s creditors.
 
Diana Frangou, joint administrator at RSM UK said: “Regrettably, due to the cashflow issues, the company has been placed into administration. This business failure illustrates the knock-on effect of the war in Ukraine on some sectors of the UK economy.

“We will be exploring opportunities to sell the business as a going concern following the appointment and any enquiries should be directed to me in the first instance.”