Scottish bathroom company falls into administration

RB Farquhar Holdings, an Aberdeenshire-based bathroom pod manufacturer, has called in the administrators after an unsuccessful foray into the Middle East.

The family-owned business struggled with the local downturn in the construction market, though it was the opening of a factory in the UAE two years ago, as part of its strategy to expand in the Middle East, that proved the biggest strain on its cash resources.

KPMG Restructuring have been brought in to assess options, and it is thought that the business’s hire and storage divisions will continue to trade normally. The latest reports are that these particular divisions have received strong levels of interest from prospective business buyers.

The hire business provides temporary accommodation such as classrooms, toilets, changing rooms, offices and storage units across the country. The revenue of this business is expected to be around £7 million in the current year.

The storage business, Simply Self Storage, of Aberdeen, provides business and public year-round storage space. Although it was only set up in 2006, it has grown each year with an expected turnover of around £750,000 in the current financial year.

RB Farquhar Holdings, which also has a manufacturing operation in the Czech Republic, had some high profile customers that, at one point, were bringing in high sales volumes. It was on the back of such business with Radisson Hotels, Holiday Inn and Travelodge, that the expansion strategy was formulated and the UAE factory never even moved into production.

The business recorded revenues of £17.3 million in 2009, but this dropped to £9.6 million in the firm's 2010 financial year, incurring substantial losses.

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