Welsh plywood import company, FG Hawkes (Western), has been put
into administration by its directors.
It is understood that the company, which trades under the brand RKL Plywood, has been facing financial difficulties for some time, but administrators from Grant Thornton have said that there is still a very strong company there for a prospective buyer. Alistair Wardell and Nigel Morrison from Grant Thornton have now begun an intensive search for a new owner.
A spokesman for the company's bankers, Barclays, said they had been working with the company to find a solution for some time.
"Barclays has worked with the directors of FG Hawkes for some time to try to help them resolve the company’s financial problems," the spokesman said. "Unfortunately this has not been achieved and the directors have now placed their company
into administration."
FG Hawkes is owned by the chairman of Neath Rugby Club, Geraint Hawkes, and is based at Kings Dock, Swansea. It imports plywood from China and Brazil for the building trade and had a turnover of £34 million last year, making it Wales's 132nd biggest business. It currently has £7 million worth of plywood in stock at its depots around the UK and Ireland, and some £3 million in transit.
The most recent accounts for the company, for the year to July 2010, showed the company had net assets of £9.96 million, an annual pre-tax profit of £962,967 and an operation profit of £1.9 million.
