UK administrations update: January 20 - 26

Since our last update, the following businesses have been confirmed as having fallen into administration. All dates indicate when the administration was announced and not necessarily the dates on which administrators were appointed.

Minerva Brands Limited - January 20
Minerva Brands Limited, a Burnley-based cosmetic products manufacturer, fell into administration earlier this month, with Mark Delaney and Michael Solomons of Moorfields appointed as joint administrators.

In accounts for the year to May 31 2024, the company’s fixed assets were valued at around £312,000 and current assets at £1 million, with net assets amounting to slightly over £246,000.

Caldwell Group Holdings Limited and Caldwell Construction Limited - January 20/21
Caldwell Group Holdings Limited, the holding company for the Caldwell Construction group, fell into administration earlier this month, with Oliver Collinge and James Sleight of PKF Littlejohn Advisory appointed as joint administrators. Collinge and Sleight were subsequently appointed as joint administrators of Caldwell Construction Limited the following day.

The company, a prominent groundworks provider based in Stoke-on-Trent and Warrington, had been hit by challenging trading conditions in the construction sector over recent years, leading to significant cashflow challenges.

In the year to March 31 2025, Caldwell Group Holdings reported turnover of close to £60.1 million, down from £67.5 million a year earlier, but recovered from an operating loss of £2.7 million to record a £933,000 profit. Its total equity at the time stood at around £15 million.

During the same period, Caldwell Construction Limited reported turnover of £58.4 million, down from £65.4 million a year earlier, but recovered from an operating loss of nearly £2.2 million the previous year to post an operating profit of around £936,000. Its fixed assets were valued at approximately £13 million and current assets at £25.3 million, with total equity amounting to £14.8 million.

Find out more about the collapse of Caldwell Construction

Booth Steel Stockholders Limited, C.F. Booth (Doncaster) Limited, C.F. Booth (Engineering) Limited, Booth Transport Limited and Northfield Aluminium Limited - January 21

Booth Steel Stockholders Limited, C.F. Booth (Doncaster) Limited, C.F. Booth (Engineering) Limited, Booth Transport Limited and Northfield Aluminium Limited, subsidiaries of Rotherham metal recycling group C.F. Booth (which entered administration earlier this month), fell into administration last week, with Howard Smith and James Lumb appointed as joint administrators of all five firms.

In the year ending March 31 2024, Booth Steel Stockholders Limited reported turnover of £1.2 million, up from £1.5 million a year earlier, but fell from a £4,469 operating profit to a loss of over £73,000. Its net assets at the time were valued at £3.3 million.

During the same period, C.F. Booth (Doncaster) Limited reported turnover of £10.6 million, up from £10.1 million, but saw operating profit drop from £1.4 million to around £743,000. Net assets at the time totalled £3.1 million.

C.F. Booth (Engineering) Limited, meanwhile, fell from a post-tax profit of £9,447 to a loss of over £105,000. Net assets at the time were valued at £2,261.

Booth Transport Limited reported turnover of £2.9 million, down from £3.2 million the previous year, while operating losses were cut from approximately £140,000 to slightly over £95,000. The company’s net liabilities at the time exceeded £383,000.

Northfield Aluminium Limited, meanwhile, saw turnover drop from close to £1.3 million to slightly over £160,000, while operating profits fell from £235,081 to £44,091. Its net liabilities stood at slightly more than £176,000.

Robert Macgillivray Panel Products Limited - January 22
Robert Macgillivray Panel Products Limited, a Stoke-on-Trent-based timber merchant, fell into administration last week, with Richard Cole and Steve Kenny of KBL Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

In accounts for the year to March 31 2023, the company’s fixed assets were valued at £1.3 million and current assets at £3.1 million, with net assets amounting to £2.7 million.

MetaGravity Group Limited - January 22
MetaGravity Group Limited, the tech company behind gaming simulation engine Quark, fell into administration last week, with Grace Jones and David Perkins of Parker Andrews appointed as joint administrators.

In accounts for the year to December 31 2024, the company’s fixed assets were valued at slightly over £24,000 while current assets totalled close to £7.4 million and net assets amounted to £7.3 million.

Stone Paving Supplies Limited - January 22
Stone Paving Supplies Limited, a Bolton-based stone paving wholesaler, fell into administration earlier this month, with Megan Singleton and Mark Colman of Leonard Curtis appointed as joint administrators.

In accounts for the year to December 31 2024, the company’s fixed assets were valued at slightly over £286,000 and current assets at £4.3 million, with net assets slightly exceeding £783,000.

Joanie Limited - January 23
Joanie Limited, a womenswear retailer based in Skipton, fell into administration last week, with Alastair Massey and Philip Armstrong of FRP Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

The company’s collapse was attributed to factors including the impact of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, longstanding economic uncertainty and increasing barriers to global trade. The brand has ceased trading following the appointment of the joint administrators, who will now seek to realise the company’s assets.

In accounts for the year ending December 31 2023, Joanie Limited’s fixed assets were valued at slightly over £54,000, while current assets amounted to around £4.5 million. However, net liabilities at the time exceeded £4.8 million.

Find out more about the collapse of Joanie

Tribe Technology Holdings Limited and Tribe Technology Group Limited - January 23
Tribe Technology Holdings Limited and Tribe Technology Group Limited, manufacturers of autonomous mining equipment, fell into administration earlier this month, with James Neill and John Donaldson of KPMG appointed as joint administrators.

In accounts for the year to June 30 2024, Tribe Technology Holdings Limited reported turnover of £329,000, up from £40,000 a year earlier, while operating losses increased from around £3.6 million to more than £7 million.

At the time, its non-current assets were valued at £649,000 and current assets at approximately £6.7 million, but net liabilities exceeded £2.6 million.

Malin + Goetz Limited - January 23
Malin + Goetz Limited, a Cardiff-based cosmetics company, fell into administration last week, with Paul Berkovi and Robert Croxen of Alvarez & Marsal appointed as joint administrators.

In accounts for the year to December 31 2023, the company’s fixed assets were valued at £1.5 million and current assets at £3.8 million, but net liabilities totalled approximately £3.5 million.

JLP Surveying Consultants Limited - January 26
JLP Surveying Consultants Limited, a quality surveying consultancy based in Wigan, fell into administration last week, with Mike Dillon of Leonard Curtis appointed as administrator.

In accounts for the year to April 29 2024, the company’s assets were valued at around £1.6 million, with net assets amounting roughly £489,000.

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