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The Herald Scotland
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Sale of Glasgow west end care home sale nets £1m for charity
It is one of a number of care homes across the country which have failed under pressure from cost inflation, staff shortages, and a lack of public funding. Balmanno House had 51 rooms, but occupancy levels were said to be consistently at or below 85% which contributed to operating losses. Administrators Blair Milne and James Fennessey at accountancy firm Azets traded Balmanno House, which was built in 1874, for a short period to ensure an orderly relocation of residents to alternative care. Major business survey reveals 'standout' view on 'Scottish visa' Scotch whisky chief pays price as global turmoil hits industry Why the case for a 'Scottish visa' just got stronger I love Scotland but returning from holiday made my heart sink Now, more than two years later and following 'considerable' interest in the property, the building has been sold for residential development for an undisclosed sum. A statement from Azets said the sale of the property to RSD Property Holdings has ensured that all creditors at the date of administration received payment in full, together with statutory interest, including payment of all redundancy pay and other entitlements due to the former workforce. The care home had around 68 employees. Mr Milne, head of restructuring and insolvency at Azets in Scotland, said: 'It gives me great pleasure to see such a substantial sum being made available for distribution to charity. It is very rare for all creditors to receive full repayment together with interest from any insolvency process, let alone such a substantial sum being made available to charities.' He added: 'I would like to express my thanks to the board of trustees for their actions and their support prior to the administration appointment and throughout the insolvency process. The actions of the trustees, particularly seeking early advice on cash flow management, helped to ensure an orderly winding down of the care home operation, an optimal outcome from sale of the company's property asset and ultimately a substantial sum being distributed to charity at the end of the process'. Speaking on behalf of the board of trustees, Allan Carrick, a former chairman of the care home, said: 'The former trustees of Balmanno House are delighted with the outcome of the administration and subsequent liquidation and are very pleased that so many deserving charities of their choice will benefit from the distribution of the surplus funds.' The insolvency process moved to a liquidation to allow the affairs of the company to be wound up and the funds distributed to creditors. A statement said the joint liquidators now plan to finalise matters and to distribute the surplus funds held in the liquidation for charitable purpose, in accordance with the wishes of the trustees of Balmanno House. The charities in line for a share of the windfall include Glasgow East End Community Carers; able2sail; St Francis Care Home; CrossReach; Association for the Relief of Infirmity in the West of Scotland; Ayrshire Hospice; Tenovus Scotland Strathclyde; Glasgow Children's Hospital; and The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice. Mr Milne added: "The challenges facing the care sector have been well documented in recent years, with many care homes caught in a perfect storm of rising labour and operational costs, insufficient public funding, workforce shortages and unstable occupancy levels, all whilst compliance requirements have intensified. "Many are operating at very tight margins and unable to increase revenue to meet rising operating costs. Sadly, a number of care homes have had no option but to enter into an insolvency process due to an inability to meet the liabilities of the business. 'As can be seen from the outcome achieved with Balmanno House, taking early advice on restructuring and insolvency ensures that all options remain available, either to restructure and preserve the business or to maximise the value available to stakeholders from a sale of the company's assets'.
STV News
13-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
Dozens of jobs lost after hospital pipeline firm collapses
Dozens of jobs have been lost at a Scottish hospital pipeline firm after the company collapsed. Hospital Pipeline Installations Limited (HPI) was placed into administration on May 9 and has ceased trading with immediate effect. The firm, which has its headquarters in Paisley and was founded in 1984, and designs and installs medical, dental, lab and industrial gas pipelines. The business also provided repair and maintenance services and had built a substantial client base including several NHS Health Boards. A total of 22 members of staff have been made redundant, with three retained to assist with the process of administration. The firm also has an office in Rochdale. The administration was said to be caused by a 'marked downturn in trade, rising operating costs and low margin contracts'. HPI at its peak had a turnover of approximately £3m and employed 25 staff. Blair Milne and James Fennessey from advisory firm Azets have been appointed as joint administrators. Mr Milne said: 'HPI was a highly regarded specialist in the field of medical gas pipeline installation and maintenance, providing an essential service to the medical sector, including hospitals and dental practices across the UK. 'The business was suffering from a number of operational and financial challenges and was coming under mounting creditor pressure. 'The directors sought professional advice on their options and ultimately concluded that the company should be placed into administration. 'We will now focus on assisting the employees with their claims for redundancy and other entitlements and on marketing the company's assets for sale. 'The joint administrators would encourage interested parties to contact the Glasgow office of Azets as soon as possible.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Scotsman
13-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
HPI: Majority of jobs lost as Paisley firm goes bust after 40 years
A total of 22 employees from the Paisley-based firm have been made redundant. Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. 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... A Scottish company has gone into administration after more than 40 years in business, with dozens of jobs lost. Hospital Pipeline Installations Limited (HPI), a medical gas pipeline installation and servicing specialist, was founded in 1984 with its headquarters based in Paisley. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A leading designer and installer of medical, dental, laboratory and industrial gas pipelines, the firm also provided repair and maintenance services with clients across a number of sectors, including several NHS Health Boards. Blair Milne and James Fennessey, partners with Azets, have been appointed as joint administrators. At its peak, HPI had a turnover of approximately £3 million and employed 25 staff. However, despite the efforts of directors, due to a downturn in trade, rising operating costs and low margin contracts - all of which contributed to recent losses and cash flow problems - the decision to place the business into administration was made. A total of 22 employees from the company, which also has an office in Rochdale, have been made redundant with three retained in order to assist with the administration process and safeguard assets. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Paisley-based firm placed into administration after 'mounting creditor pressure' Commenting, Blair Milne said: 'HPI was a highly regarded specialist in the field of medical gas pipeline installation and maintenance, providing an essential service to the medical sector, including hospitals and dental practices across the UK. The business was suffering from a number of operational and financial challenges and was coming under mounting creditor pressure. 'The Directors sought professional advice on their options and ultimately concluded that the Company should be placed into administration.' He added that administrators would be focused on providing staff affected by redundancy with support, including liaising with the Redundancy Payments Office and employment support organisations such as PACE He said: 'We will now focus on assisting the employees with their claims for redundancy and other entitlements and on marketing the Company's assets for sale. The joint administrators would encourage interested parties to contact the Glasgow office of Azets as soon as possible.'
The National
13-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Scottish firm goes bust after over 40 years with dozens of jobs lost
Hospital Pipeline Installations Limited (HPI) was headquartered in Paisley and founded in 1984. It designed and installed medical, dental, laboratory and industrial gas pipelines. Blair Milne and James Fennessey, partners with Azets, have been appointed joint administrators. READ MORE: Three Belgian soldiers hurt in 'shooting incident' during exercise in Scotland A total of 22 employees have been made redundant, with three being retained to assist with the administration process. "HPI was a highly regarded specialist in the field of medical gas pipeline installation and maintenance, providing an essential service to the medical sector, including hospitals and dental practices across the UK,' Blair Milne said. "The business was suffering from a number of operational and financial challenges and was coming under mounting creditor pressure. "The directors sought professional advice on their options and ultimately concluded that the company should be placed into administration. "We will now focus on assisting the employees with their claims for redundancy and other entitlements and on marketing the company's assets for sale."
Scottish Sun
13-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Scottish firm goes bust after plunging into administration with majority of jobs lost
END OF THE LINE Scottish firm goes bust after plunging into administration with majority of jobs lost Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SCOTTISH firm has plunged into administration after 41 years with dozens of jobs lost. Hospital Pipeline Installations Limited (HPI) was founded in 1984 and headquartered on Duke Street in Paisley. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 HPI headquarters is located in Paisley's Duke Street HPI was a leading designer and installer of medical, dental, laboratory and industrial gas pipelines The company also had an additional office south of the border in Rochdale. The business plunged into administration due to a 'marked downturn' in trade, rising operating costs and low-margin contracts, The Herald reports. Blair Milne and James Fennessey, partners with Azets, have been appointed joint administrators. At its peak, HPI had a turnover of around £3million and employed 25 staff. The business provided repair and maintenance services and built a client base across the construction, dental and medical sectors - which included several NHS Health Boards. A total of 22 employees have now been made redundant, with three being retained to assist the administration process. The administrators said they will provide as much assistance as possible to those staff affected by redundancy. This includes liaising with the Redundancy Payments Office and employment support organisations such as PACE. They added: "Unfortunately, 22 employees have been made redundant with three being retained by the joint administrators to assist with the administration process and with safeguarding the company's assets." Completely Motoring faces administration Blair Milne, joint administrator, said: "HPI was a highly regarded specialist in the field of medical gas pipeline installation and maintenance, providing an essential service to the medical sector, including hospitals and dental practices across the UK. "The business was suffering from a number of operational and financial challenges and was coming under mounting creditor pressure. "The directors sought professional advice on their options and ultimately concluded that the company should be placed into administration. "We will now focus on assisting the employees with their claims for redundancy and other entitlements and on marketing the company's assets for sale."
