80 jobs lost as Scots firm appoints liquidators after 90 years trading
A total of 83 employees have been made redundant, 65 who worked at Andrew Wright Windows Limited and 18 at Andrew Wright Glass Limited.
The firm provided windows and doors for social housing, local authorities, domestic and commercial construction, and said it had seen a 'significant' slowdown in the construction industry in 2023/24, which in turn had a detrimental impact on its sales.
READ MORE: Labour's Homelessness Minister 'evicted tenants and hiked rent to £4k a month'
Andrew Wright Windows said it had seen its turnover decline by approximately 35% due to the slowdown in sales, while Andrew Wright Glass saw a reduction of 60%.
Mark Harper and Paul Dounis from Opus Restructuring & Insolvency were appointed joint provisional liquidators at the firm on Wednesday.
They said both companies had experienced 'significant cashflow challenges' among other factors such as contract tendering, rising cost of raw materials and increasing staff costs which led to liquidators being appointed.
Despite 'exhaustive efforts', the directors were said to be left with 'no option' but to cease trading.
Mark Bradford and James Fraser, the company's directors, said: 'This is a profoundly sad moment for all at Andrew Wright.
'Over two years, we have done everything we could to turn the business around, but the challenges have proved insurmountable.
'We are truly sorry for the impact the closure will have on our employees, customers, and the wider community.
'We will work now with Opus to support our employees and stakeholders through the transition.'
Harper, partner of Opus Restructuring & Insolvency and joint provisional liquidator, said the directors 'fought hard' to save the two long-standing businesses.
He said: 'The collapse of Andrew Wright Windows Limited and Andrew Wright Glass Limited is another indicator of the challenges and economic headwinds currently facing the Scottish construction sector.
'The directors fought hard to save these long-standing businesses, but the construction industry has experienced several challenges over recent years, and this impacts heavily throughout the supply chain, putting businesses under increased pressure.
'Our priority is to assist those members of staff who have been made redundant, providing them with the information and support they need to claim their statutory entitlements from the Redundancy Payments Office, as well as to support the owners, for whom this is also an extremely difficult time.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
37 minutes ago
- The National
The tax haven firms given cash by the Scottish Government
Other offshore firms in receipt of public subsidies ditched pledges to create hundreds of jobs, or laid off hundreds of workers just a few years after accepting millions of pounds of taxpayer handouts. This investigation is part of The Ferret's ongoing Money Trail series, in which we are exploring how international wealth flows through Scotland, and how it shapes our politics, public finances, and land and property ownership. Our findings prompted calls from an MSP to give the Scottish Government the means to 'claw back' public funds when firms fail to deliver on promises of jobs and investment. Campaigners and the Scottish Greens want the public funding of tax havens to be banned altogether. READ MORE: 'Absolutely crazy': Scottish jazz artist scores new film by Hollywood director Incorporating a firm offshore does not equate to wrongdoing. But the anonymity afforded to corporate owners in jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, or the US state of Delaware creates risks of 'corruption and tax abuse', campaigners warned. Transparency International UK argued that companies must be required to reveal their true owners before they are given public money. Scottish Enterprise (SE), the Government's business agency, awards grants and other payments to firms active in Scotland or seeking to set up a base here, incentivising them to invest and create local jobs. The agency's financial support led to more than 9000 Scottish jobs being generated by global companies last year alone, it said. But some subsidised firms collectively promised to create more than 1000 jobs which either failed to materialise, or were cut just years later, while 1150 more are at risk. The Ferret analysed a list of grants, investments and other payments of more than £25,000 that SE made to nearly 2600 companies between January 2020 and December 2024. We identified 18 that were ultimately owned in tax or secrecy havens, and had been given £1m or more in grants by Scottish Enterprise over the investment agency's lifetime. Mangata Networks IN 2022, the Delaware-incorporated satellite maker, Mangata Networks, announced a hub in Prestwick which it claimed would create 575 new jobs. A total of £84m in taxpayer funding was pledged – £54.5m from SE and £29m from the Scottish, UK, and Ayrshire local governments – that was expected to be repaid over 15 years. Files released by the Scottish Government, via a separate FOI request, claim Mangata's boss 'clearly stated' he would only choose Scotland if given 'an incentive package' that exceeded an offer from a rival country. However, Mangata last year scrapped plans to create the jobs, reportedly blaming challenging economic conditions, increased material costs and supply chain issues. Mangata said at the time it would continue its Scottish research and development operations, which were subsidised by a separate SE grant. Mangata has received £4.3m from SE to date. SE stressed that subsidised firms are typically paid in tranches at pre-agreed milestones, and are required to evidence project expenditure before they can claim grant payments. As such Mangata will not receive the full £54.5m originally pledged. LumiraDx IN 2021, SE agreed to provisionally award £15m to LumiraDx – a Cayman Islands-owned health diagnostics firm – to help create 500 to 750 new jobs as part of plans to establish hubs across Scotland. But two years later, the firm had announced 510 redundancies in Clackmannanshire and Stirlingshire. LumiraDx reportedly said it grew its operation to make Covid-19 test kits, and was shrinking back to pre-pandemic levels. LumiraDx, which received £3.6m from SE, is in the process of being liquidated, according to the UK business registry. Spirit AeroSystems SPIRIT AeroSystems, whose parent company is also incorporated in the tax and secrecy haven of Delaware, makes planes and US military aircraft. It opened a hub in Prestwick in 2021, and took nearly £7.9m in SE grants. Then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon making a keynote speech on Scotland's economy at Spirit AeroSystems in Prestwick in 2017First Minister at the time Nicola Sturgeon said then that the facility could create more quality manufacturing jobs. But Airbus is taking over most Prestwick operations from the loss-making Spirit, and promised only to retain the 1150 workers based there in the short-term. Clydeport THE west coast ports, run by Peel Ports and ultimately owned in the Cayman Islands, received £1.1m from SE via their subsidiary companies. A member of Westminster's public accounts committee claimed in 2013 that Peel did 'not pay their fair share of corporation tax' – a claim rejected by the company. READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon 'felt like disappearing into North Sea after arrest', excerpt reveals Its billionaire chair, John Whittaker, who is domiciled in the tax haven of the Isle of Man, was last year accused of leaving Ardrossan port to ruin, while he and other shareholders received nearly £300m in dividends. Port director Jim McSporran told The Ferret his firm invested £68m in Scotland in the last three years, which would 'transform the economic prosperity of the west coast' and create 'thousands of jobs'. THE tech firm was given £1.1m by SE. It was part of Work Tech Group – which is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) – until it demerged from the group in January. The BVI is a renowned tax and secrecy haven and Work Tech's latest UK accounts state that the controlling party of the company is 'not known'. Earlier in July, the BVI and several other UK offshore territories failed to meet the final deadline to introduce publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers designed to deter financial corruption. A spokesperson said Work Tech Group was also registered in the UK, requiring it to disclose the same information as UK companies, and pay corporation tax. Both Work Tech and 'met their tax and reporting obligations', they added. HarperCollins THE publishing firm – founded in Glasgow but owned by News Corporation for decades – received nearly £2m from SE to design and install a robotic management system at its Robroyston warehouse. Rupert Murdoch News Corp, owned by the family of billionaire media baron Rupert Murdoch, is incorporated in Delaware. Calls for tighter rules and 'clawback clause' CAMPAIGNERS and MSPs urged SE to demand more transparency from companies about their ownership and tax affairs before awarding public money to them with conditionality attached to grants. Others challenged the investment arm to stop funding tax haven firms altogether. Tom Brake, a former LibDem MP and director of campaign group Unlock Democracy, highlighted that Holyrood blocked Covid-19 relief funds to tax haven firms after parliament backed a Green amendment to a 2020 bill. 'There is a cast-iron case for adopting this policy comprehensively to stop taxpayers' money from disappearing into companies whose tax affairs are a closed book,' he added. The Greens also called on the Scottish Government to adopt the policy 'on a permanent basis'. Labour MSP Paul Sweeney urged SE to write 'a clawback clause' into contracts to recoup public funds if firms 'fail to deliver' on projects, or later slash their Scottish investments. 'There have been too many cases of public subsidies being awarded to projects undertaken by multinational firms that have failed to create the jobs and economic growth that were promised,' he said. READ MORE: 'F***ing slags': Oasis take aim at Edinburgh Council chiefs in first Murrayfield gig Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, stressed that while not all firms using secrecy jurisdictions are 'behaving badly', the lack of transparency creates risks of 'corruption and tax abuse'. Any company receiving public funds should be required to disclose their financial affairs in all the jurisdictions where they operate, he argued. Juliet Swann of Transparency International UK also called for tighter rules. 'Requiring companies registered in tax havens to disclose their true owners as a condition of receiving public funding would dramatically improve due diligence,' she said. 'The public has a right to know who ultimately benefits from their money.' A spokesperson for Scottish Enterprise said: 'Global businesses are attracted to Scotland by its collaborative business support environment, access to a skilled workforce, as well as a range of funding packages to develop new, or grow existing, operations here. Scottish Enterprise's focus is on attracting and working with inward investors to invest and create jobs in Scotland. 'As a direct result of our support last year, global companies choosing to locate here generated more than 9000 jobs in Scotland. 'Corporation tax is a matter reserved to the UK Government and decisions around the location of registered offices are made by individual companies and are based on a wide range of factors.' Every company named in this article was approached for comment.
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
ScotRail passengers travelling without tickets face minimum fares deterrent under new plans
Sign up for the latest news and analysis about Scottish transport Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Passengers who travel without a ticket face a new crackdown under ScotRail plans to combat fare dodging, The Scotsman has learned. They could be charged a minimum fare if they had not bought a ticket before boarding the train. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A minimum fare would be introduced under ScotRail plans The move is seen as deterring passengers from claiming they had made shorter journeys than they had travelled. It is aimed ay reducing the estimated £10 million a year lost to the Scottish Government-owned operator through ticket fraud, which would cut the amount of public funding it needs. Unlike most English operators, ScotRail passengers do not face penalties for not buying a ticket before travelling. However, the proposal could mean passengers making short journeys which cost less than the minimum fare having to pay more if they did not buy a ticket before boarding their train. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The minutes of a ScotRail board meeting in January show strategy and planning director Scott Prentice said the introduction of a minimum fares scheme was among 'key initiatives' in the firm's 2025-26 draft business plan, subject to Transport Scotland approval. An industry source said minimum fares was a 'slightly softer approach' than the £100 penalty fares which can be imposed south of the Border. Another industry insider said: 'This looks like a revenue protection initiative, where a passenger with no ticket on a train or at the end of their journey is obliged to buy a 'minimum fare' ticket. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'This would probably be more expensive than many low value ScotRail tickets, such as a £3 Mount Florida to Glasgow Central single, and act as an encouragement for passengers to buy a ticket before boarding a train. It's believed to be better than a penalty fares scheme. READ MORE: The place in Scotland where 94 per cent of people travel by ScotRail 'ScotRail is right to continue to work hard on reducing ticketless travel, and needs some incentives as it's practically not easy to check that everyone has a ticket on board on short journeys and busy trains.' However, the Scottish Conservatives questioned the merits of the scheme. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Party transport spokesperson Sue Webber said: 'Hard-pressed passengers will want to see stronger action on fare dodging, but this policy might not be the silver bullet SNP ministers want it to be. 'It's simply not practical to expect smaller stations to enforce this policy, after the SNP's botched nationalisation of ScotRail.' Claire Baker, her Scottish Labour counterpart, said: 'It is not right that commuters are forced to pay more because a small minority are trying to game the system. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The SNP should work with ScotRail to design plans to tackle fare dodging without penalising other passengers.' READ MORE: The challenge to make ScotRail peak fares abolition succeed second time round A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'ScotRail has a number of ways to make it easy for passengers to buy their tickets before they board - online, via the app, ticket machine or from ticket offices.
The Courier
5 hours ago
- The Courier
Parts of Perthshire experiencing house price boom
Parts of Perthshire have experienced house price growth exceeding 20% in the past year. The new research by estate agents Rettie shows Perth and Kinross house price growth continues to outstrip national increases. Average prices in the region are now nearing £250,000, around 10% above the Scottish average. Auchterarder properties reached an average sale price of £373,916 last year, the eighth highest in Scotland. Rettie said market activity has picked up this year, with transaction levels up by 11.7% compared to the same period in 2024. Prices have risen around 15% over the past five years – but some parts of Perthshire have seen increases far larger. Methven's prices have increased by 29% in just 12 months. Other areas experiencing rapid growth are Errol (26% annual increase), Aberfeldy (19%) and Luncarty (16%), Alyth (13%) and Scone (10%). Queen's Crescent in Gleneagles Village, Auchterarder, was Scotland's most expensive street, reaching an average house price of almost £3 million in 2024. Rettie director Alastair Houlden said Perth and Kinross continues to have strong appeal for property owners. He said: 'Despite the challenges facing the national market, Perth and Kinross continues to see steady house price growth. 'With strong price growth, increasing transaction levels, and continued demand for both well connected and lifestyle driven locations, the region is cementing its place as one of Scotland's most desirable and dynamic property markets. 'In terms of the region itself, you have a contrast between the rich farming land and urban areas of lowland Perthshire to the attractive highlands, with its abundance of lochs and rivers, stretching up to the southern tip of the Cairngorm National Park. 'The increased focus on healthy life-work balance and an increased appreciation for the outdoors has been key to the continuing demand in the market.' Other areas in Perth and Kinross which have high average prices are Dunkeld and Birnam (£301,787), Pitlochry (£287,116), Comrie (£263,568) and Milnathort (£259,952).
