Administration and Pre-Pack Sale of a Multi-Site Builders’ Merchant

Moorfields were appointed as administrators over Laker Building and Fencing Supplies, a multi-location builders’ merchant supplying construction materials to trade and retail customers.

The business employed 13 staff and generated annual turnover of approximately £5 million. With no secured creditors in place, the focus of the administration was on preserving value for unsecured creditors while maintaining continuity of trade where viable.

 

Objectives

Moorfields’ objectives upon appointment were to:

· Stabilise the business and assess the viability of individual trading locations

· Minimise ongoing losses by addressing unprofitable operations

· Preserve employment where possible

· Achieve a sale of the viable parts of the business to maximise creditor returns

 

Moorfields’ Actions

To deliver these objectives, Moorfields:

· Conducted an immediate review of trading performance across all locations

· Closed the loss-making head office to prevent further financial erosion

· Worked with management and advisers to prepare the remaining branches for sale

· Marketed the business and assets to unconnected third-party buyers

· Completed an unconnected pre-pack sale of the remaining branches and the majority of employees

 

Results

The administration achieved a positive outcome, including:

· Successful sale of the viable trading branches as a going concern

· Preservation of jobs through the transfer of staff to the purchaser

· Cessation of loss-making operations to protect value

· An orderly wind-down of residual matters for the benefit of creditors