Former Metalrax business PCS Brands collapses with 104 redundancies
A FORMER part of Birmingham manufacturing group Metalrax has collapsed into administration with the loss of more than 100 jobs.
Administrators from KPMG have been called in to PCS Brands after the business encountered “severe trading difficulties”. PCS makes metal bakeware, cookware and wine racks together with the distribution of cutlery under the Viners Brand.
Will Wright and Paul Flint said they were hopeful of finding a buyer for the business but said they had been left with no option but to make 104 people redundant. A skeleton workforce has been retained while the process of administration is resolved.
The business has its headquarters in London but employs around 300 staff at sites in the West Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Norfolk, and it has 30 shops.
The plant in Oldbury is losing 20 staff with nine retained. The company also has operations in Stratford-upon-Avon, Hereford and Walsall.
Worst hit is the George Wilkinson factory in Burnley where 73 people have been made redundant and 19 retained, while 11 jobs have gone at the head office in Acton, although 25 jobs have been retained there for the time being. Barnsley and Great Ryburgh, Norfolk, which each have nine staff, have escaped the cuts.
The staff have endured something of a rollercoaster ride during the past few years. The former parent company, Metalrax Housewares, avoided administration in April 2013 when the wider Metalrax group went into administration and was broken up.
The Housewares arm was picked up in a solvent sale by Cable Capital Partners, part of Cable Finance, only to fall into administration two months later when it was bought in a pre-pack deal by US-based homewares group Oneida International, which owns PCS.
Flint, partner at KPMG, said: “Unfortunately the PCS Brands has experienced significant trading difficulties for a while and has been unable to sustain the business resulting in our appointment as administrators.
“The business has a number of retail and wholesale outlets across the UK and we are very keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in purchasing all or part of the business and its stock. We have retained staff to help us fulfil current orders and support customers during this time, but have unfortunately had to make some redundancies across the business. We would encourage any interested parties to contact the joint administrators as soon as possible.”
KPMG is familiar with the business having also handled the April 2013 administration of Metalrax Group and the pre-pack two months later.
