Manufacturing companies’ assets sold
THE key assets of manufacturing companies Meltham Mills Engineering and Meltham Mills Heat Treatment have been sold by administrators.
Joint administrators Peter O’Hara and Simon Wier of corporate insolvency specialist, O’Hara & Co, based in Birstall, were brought in after the Huddersfield-based companies suffered a dramatic downturn in orders in July.
Rather than carrying out an immediate pre-packaged sale, O’Hara & Co continued to trade both businesses while marketing the companies and their assets, including production technology, in a bid to achieve the best possible outcome for all stakeholders, including secured lenders.
The joint administrators have sold the main assets of the two companies to two separate indisclosed parties.
O’Hara & Co was advised throughout by Clarion Solicitors and Eddisons Chartered Surveyors, both of Leeds.
O’Hara & Co founder and senior partner, Peter O’ Hara, said the sale was expected to result in secured creditors of the two businesses being paid in full and a dividend being available to unsecured creditors.
Mr O’Hara added: “The adoption of a proactive trading strategy rather than an immediate close down of the two businesses has resulted in a far greater return for creditors in the long term.”
Meltham Mills Engineering had 33 employees when it went into administration having laid off 40 staff last November as a cost cutting exercise.
Meltham Mills Heat Treatment had 27 when it went into administration.
Thirty-one of the 60 employees were kept on across the two companies whilst the companies were traded in administration to finish off outstanding contracts, improve the debt collection position and market the business and assets for sale.
Ryan Millmore, a partner in the corporate recovery department at Clarion, said: “Whilst there were a number of interested parties, due to current uncertain market conditions in the automotive/machinery supply chain it was not possible to rescue the businesses.
“It is always unfortunate when employees are ultimately dismissed, but continued trading whilst in administration saw continuity of employment for 31 of the employees for a short period of time and enabled the administrators to maximise the sale price for the assets for the benefit of the companies’ creditors.”
The two businesses were owned by Meltham Mills Group.
Meltham Mills Engineering offered fully machined, heat-treated and surface finished power transmission components for leading agricultural vehicle manufacturers.
Meltham Mills Heat Treatment (MMHT) provided metallurgical services to the precision engineering industry throughout Britain.
