NEWS | Round-up
MBO rescues Imperial Bathrooms from administration
IMPERIAL BATHROOMS, one of the last British sanitaryware manufacturers, has been saved from administration by a management buyout.
The buyout, led by former managing
director Neil Gore, is through newly- formed company IBC Products Ltd. Gore returns to the role after three- years as Mereway’s financial director and is joined in IBC Products by James Stevenson, the son of Imperial Bathrooms founder Geoffrey
Stevenson, as well as supply chain director Kevin Johnson and operations director Robin Wright. James Stevenson (pictured) was export director and then joint managing director under previous owner Simon Lousada and his company Lousada plc. Lousada took the company over in the summer of 2020 with positive aims for growth but now, less than three years later, he no longer has any involvement.
“I am confident we can ensure the
13 Tile Giant stores close as it goes into administration
TILE AND surfaces retailer Tile Giant has gone into
pre-pack
administration leading to the closure of 13 stores. The remaining 69 stores have been saved by Stiled Holdings Limited and CTD Tiles.
In a statement, the administrator said the administration and closure of the stores was because Tile Giant “had experienced significant trading difficulties over the course of 2022”. Tile Giant had 82 stores and an HQ in Leeds. Neil Morley and Howard Smith from Interpath Advisory were appointed as joint administrators on February 13. They immediately sold the company to two parties. Through the sale, 303 jobs have
been saved across 69 stores and the HQ. However, 13 stores were closed with
immediate effect with 43 redundancies. The administrators are
providing support to those who have lost their jobs.
As part of the agreement, jobs of 255 members of staff across 56 stores and the head office were saved as part of a deal with Stiled Holdings Limited. It will also take the trading name, goodwill and the assets. Shaun Mason, CTD’s head of commercial and supply chain, said: “We want to drive forward our vision of CTD and we will continue to look for further opportunities to grow both organically and through acquisitions.” Matt Williams, CEO of
Stiled
Holdings, said: “Our focus as the new owner will be to put the customer at the centre of everything we do; that starts with ensuring that all existing orders are honoured and fulfilled in a timely and convenient way. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to unleash the potential of the brand.”
company’s sustainability and quickly return to high levels of success,” Neil Gore said.
“Our one aim is to re-establish the Imperial brand as a highly regarded
and trusted name in the bathroom industry, serving our customers with quality British designs and lead times, as originally founded.”
The company says it is launching a new range of products in 2023, including the imminent Fradley Collection.
Stevenson said: “We want to show our customers that as a brand and business, we have the courage to innovate and adapt to the everchanging retail landscape. “We strongly believe in leaning into
change and are confident we can successfully navigate the current economic climate in the months ahead. Thank you to every customer that continues to tell our story, you are crucial to the long-term survival and growth of our business.”
Geoffrey Stevenson founded Imperial Bathrooms in 1987 and died in October 2020.
Häfele partly restores IT systems and deliveries after cyber-attack
GERMAN KITCHEN system specialist Häfele has announced it has partially restored its website and Häfele UK is now working on two- to three-day lead times for orders.
The shutdown of its website and IT systems followed a ransomware cyber- attack on February 2.
The UK website has now been restored in part and customers can now browse for products, services and content online.
The company said that Häfele UK is continuing to work on restoring full website functionality, including online ordering and MyHäfele. For now, Häfele UK has put extra resources into its customer support and warehousing teams to handle customer orders more efficiently and is now operating on two- to three-day lead
times.It is aiming to restore its normal 24-hour turnaround as quickly as possible.
Chief commercial officer Lee Dicey said: “We appreciate this has been a frustrating
time for our
customers and colleagues, and we want to thank them for their understanding and patience. We are pleased to report that we are well on our way to getting all our services fully back up and running. Häfele said it is now building a completely new IT security architecture using the best technology on the market.
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