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North Wales Live
8 hours ago
- Business
- North Wales Live
Liquidators appointed as North Wales firm stops trading after 100 years
Liquidators have been appointed to a North Wales business that has ceased trading. Woollacott Gears Ltd was a 100-year-old business based at Llay Hall Industrial Estate, in Wrexham. They specialised in the production of precision gears and engineering components. The firm was recognised for its high-quality manufacturing, with past clients including BAE and other major industrial names. But Leonard Curtis have now been appointed as liquidators. A statement of affairs shows that their assets are expected to realise just over £70,000. But the company have debts and liabilities of over £350K. Landwood Group is now overseeing the sale of Woollacott's extensive plant and machinery. There are more than 450 lots of precision engineering machinery following the closure. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now Jeff Wignall, director at Landwood Group, said: 'It's always sad when a business like Woollacott Gears closes, especially one that's been part of Wrexham's history for more than 100 years. It was a well-respected local firm and it's important the sale reflects that. We're handling it with the care and precision it deserves. 'The auction offers a rare chance to get hold of specialist gear cutting machinery and associated equipment at a fraction of the usual cost. With more than 450 lots available, there's something for every business, whether you're upgrading, expanding or entering the gear manufacturing space for the first time. "Our auctions always attract strong interest and with quality equipment like this in short supply, we're expecting some competitive bidding. It's not one to miss.' The sale includes high-spec CNC gear cutting machines, tooling, and stocks of parts and components, alongside a range of other manufacturing assets. Viewing of all equipment will be available at Llay Hall Industrial Estate, Mold Road, Cefn-y-bedd, Wrexham, LL12 9YG on Wednesday 6 August 2025 from 10am to 4pm. The auction will close from 10am on Monday 11 August 2025. The assets are now live for bidding in an online auction via Bidspotter.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Hundred sell-off saved up to six counties from possible collapse, new report finds
The windfall generated by the sale of shares in the eight Hundred franchises may have saved as many as six first-class counties from imminent crisis and possible collapse, according to an expert in sport finance who co-wrote a new report into county cricket. The Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report analysed the finances of each of the 18 first-class counties over a decade, identifying a 'yawning gap' between the results of the most successful teams – with Surrey by some distance the most profitable – and the less well-off. Of the £306.13m generated by the 18 counties in 2023 just three teams – Surrey, Lancashire and Warwickshire, with income boosted in all three cases by hosting Ashes Tests that year – were responsible for 44%. By contrast the three poorest counties – Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire – between them generated just 5.56% of the total. The ECB's annual payment to counties, a total of just over £88m in 2023, made up 27% of their combined income, but while it constituted just 6% of Surrey's it made up 71% of Northamptonshire's, and 67% of Leicestershire's. The report suggests that the fact counties do not themselves control such a vital revenue stream could threaten their financial sustainability, particularly given concerns that it will be reduced if income from future domestic and international media rights sales decreases. 'We would probably have been talking about 18 counties going down to 14, 13, 12 even,' said professor Rob Wilson, the report's co-author. 'Essentially the picture is counties overly reliant on ECB funding. And if you take that ECB funding out, they are technically insolvent. They simply do not make enough money to wash their face. Then you have this unicorn that is the Hundred which will to a degree solve some of those short and medium-term financial issues.' Wilson described the arrival of the Hundred money as 'a crucial turning point in the domestic game … an extraordinary opportunity, but it has to be managed with real prudence'. 'It's really easy if you just look at the numbers to say those four counties are almost insolvent because they don't generate enough to sustain themselves. So without that grant, they disappear,' he said. 'The reality is that the ECB revenue structure enables the counties to exist in the formats they're in. And that's going to be turbocharged with the Hundred money. What's important is that the ECB look after that money and how they distribute it so the clubs don't waste it.' But while counties are due to profit from the £520m generated by the sale of Hundred franchises, 65% of that would disappear instantly if they simply paid off the debt they held in 2023, a combined £338.6m, most of it concentrated in the clubs with the highest annual incomes. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion The difference between the financial might of different counties is such that though Durham's annual spend on staff salary costs, as a percentage of their revenue, was almost the same as Surrey's (17% and 18% respectively), their total salary bill was £1.39m, to Surrey's £11.6m. Given that disparity it is perhaps no surprise that the report's analysis of competitive balance in domestic cricket is not encouraging. 'Overall the general trend appears to be declining,' it concludes, 'and this should present a cause of concern.'
TTG
24-06-2025
- Business
- TTG
Nick Marks resigns as sole remaining director of Baldwins Travel
Marks last month applied to the High Court to have the formerly family-run business wound up, with a hearing fixed for Wednesday (25 June). However, a new filing to Companies House on Tuesday (24 June) confirms Marks resigned his directorship last Thursday (19 June). Should the business be wound up on Wednesday, it could bring the curtain down on the Baldwins brand after 120 years – and end several challenging years of uncertainty for the agency, which has 11 branches. Three of these branches, its Tunbridge Wells HQ, Tonbridge and Tenterden, were placed up for sale last month after receivers were appointed. The sale is being overseen by joint receivers Leonard Curtis and Westgates Restructuring.
ITV News
07-06-2025
- Business
- ITV News
130 staff at engineering firm made redundant after Workington business closes its doors
All staff at a Workington engineering firm have been made redundant immediately after administrators were appointed. Chapel Bank Engineering has been in business for the past 80 years. Administrators from Leonard Curtis were appointed to Workington Engineering Limited, trading as Chapel Bank Engineering, on 6 June 2025. The business on Curwen Road, Workington, had been trading since 1939 offering heavy engineering services across many sectors including nuclear, oil and gas, renewables, steelmaking and construction. The administrators said, following the successful sale of TSP Engineering to Workington Engineering in September2024, the company was able to protect some contracts and was seeking private investment to help the business recover. But "despite the efforts of the management team and advisers that investment was not forthcoming and ultimately the company has had to cease trading". All 130 staff at the site were made redundant. UNITE Union is holding a session at the local job centre in Workington is holding an Open Day between 10am and 4pm on Wednesday 11 June 2025 to support affected employees. Iain Nairn from Leonard Curtis commented: 'Directors at Workington Engineering have been unable to move the business forward since last year and have had no option but to close the doors. It is a very sad day for everyone involved.' 'There have been big challenges in the last few years in the steel sector and the inability of the company to raise investment has caused its closure.' Workington's MP described the closure as a 'devastating blow'. Josh MacAllister had arranged a drop-in at Workington job centre next Wednesday (11 June) for the workers affected.
The Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Major manufacturer that supplies railway operators suddenly closes after 50 years as over 30 staff made redundant
A MAJOR manufacturer that supplies railway operators has suddenly closed after 50 years. A key update was issued after the employer made all of its staff redundant and began a fire sale of its assets. 3 3 Manufacturer Dale (Mansfield) Limited appointed administrators in October last year. However all 34 employees at the company, which was established in the early 1970s, were made redundant after the business failed to find a purchaser or investor. Administrators from Leonard Curtis have been selling off the business ' assets since they were appointed, but newly released information show it is now shutting down entirely. Documents recently filed with Companies House show Dale's former headquarters has now been sold to haulage firm Maurice Hill Transport Limited for £1.2 million, reports Nottingham Post. The property is based on a three-acre site and is divided into two main buildings, both with manufacturing and office accommodation space. The money raised by its sale will be used to pay the company's creditors, including Lloyds Bank and HMRC. Its equipment and stock has also been sold off by the administrators, who revealed in financial documents that up to this point more than £62,000 had been raised by selling scrap metal and other materials from the closed factory. Basford-based auctioneer John Pye Auctions was appointed to sell some of the company's other items and raised £194,653 in total from sales of furniture, cars, and machinery. Administrators had been told Dale's intellectual property could sell for as much as £80,000. But sadly the administrators said: "customer interest in the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) has been disappointing thus far" and that it was unlikely to hit this sum. Scottish firm goes bust after plunging into administration The firm's managers said it expected Lloyds, HMRC, and priority creditors - like former staff - would be repaid in full. The taxman had claimed £282,430 from the business, while employee-related claims totalled £47,625. Mansfield is in north Nottinghamshire and has a proud history of coal mining and textiles industries. The firm's website said its mining and oil rig equipment had been used in the Caspian Sea, Sardinia, Azerbaijan, the Gulf of Mexico, and in South Wales. However, following the decline of the UK mining industry, Dale's diversified into other industries including manufacturing hydraulic cylinders. What does going into administration mean? WHEN a company enters into administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator. The administrator has to leverage the company's assets and business to repay creditors any outstanding debts. Once a company enters administration, a "moratorium" is put in place which means no legal action can be taken against it. Administrators write to your creditors and Companies House to say they've been appointed. They try to stop the company from being liquidated (closing down), and if it can't it pays as much of a company's debts from its remaining assets. The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do to move the business forward. This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invite them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting. A Notice of Intention is used to inform concerning parties that a company intends to enter administration. It is a physical document which is submitted to court, usually by directors aiming to prevent a company from being liquidated. Like with a standard administration process, a Notice of Intention stops creditors from taking out any legal action over a company while they try and rectify the business. Dale's website explained it had worked with Eurostar, which operates international train services between Paris, London, Amsterdam and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel. Richard Pinder, director of restructuring and insolvency at Leonard Curtis, said last year: 'The company ran a marketing campaign last year to find a purchaser or investor to take the business forward which unfortunately was unsuccessful. "Upon my instruction to advise the company, it was clear that its financial and operational position was such that there was no realistic prospect of avoiding a cessation of trade. "And there was insufficient working capital or work in progress to support continued trade, even in the immediate short term. 'We are currently assisting the Redundancy Payments Service in dealing with the processing and payment of employee claims for redundancy and their other entitlements." Mr Pinder added that it was "uncertain" if unsecured creditors, such as companies owed money by Dale, would get much money back through the administration.
