UK kitchen company plunges into administration – all jobs lost | UK | News
A long-established Scottish kitchen and appliance supplier and installer has gone into administration, ending more than 33 years of trading and causing the loss of all 18 jobs. The company supplied, distributed and installed gas and electric kitchen appliances across Scotland. Merchant City Distributors Limited, based in East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, ceased operations and appointed administrators on April 7, according to the London Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
The firm operated from the Kelvin Industrial Estate and was established in March 1993. The company specializes in supplying and installing built-in and freestanding kitchen appliances to the trade including kitchen studios, kitchen furniture manufacturers and home building industry sectors across Scotland.
MCD distributed many of the country’s leading white goods brands, including Bosch, Siemens, Neff, Hotpoint, Electrolux and AEG.
BDO’s James Stephen and Ben Peterson have been appointed joint administrators.
In a statement, the administrators said: “Following damaging supply chain issues, administrators concluded there was no viable future for the business and have ceased trading.
“As a result, they took the difficult decision to appoint joint administrators and 18 employees were subsequently made redundant.”
BDO’s James Stephen told Reporter: “The difficult business environment affected the company’s ability to trade and the Directors unfortunately saw administration as the only option.
“Our focus at this time is to process employee claims and evaluate company assets for the benefit of creditors.”
Under insolvency rules in the UK, administration is designed to protect a company against urgent legal action; Meanwhile, managers evaluate options for restructuring or asset realization.
The director must make a statement as soon as reasonably practicable and before the end of 8 weeks after the company goes into administration, setting out proposals for achieving the administration’s objective or explaining why these cannot be achieved. Offers may include a voluntary arrangement or a compromise or arrangement with creditors or members.
