Sun, 06 Feb 2011 | BUSINESS SALE
Chesterfield car windscreen supplier, Auto Windscreens, is reportedly in financial difficulty and looking for a buyer or investors.
Lloyds, the company’s bankers, are in discussions with several business turnaround specialists with the specific objective of securing emergency investment for the company. Understandably concerned about its exposure, the bank has enlisted the help of Deloitte, whose insolvency partners are standing by should it be deemed necessary to place the business into administration.
Auto Windscreens, which was set up in 1971, employs around 1600 people. In addition to a state-of-the-art factory in Chesterfield, the company runs a fleet of several hundred mobile service units and has a nationwide network of fitting centres.
But despite recent restructuring attempts and cost control measures, debts could not be reduced in a tough operating environment that saw big reductions in turnover. Revenues had dropped from to 99.4m in the year to December 31st 2008, to 77.3m in the year to December 31st 2009, with a net loss of £5.3m.
According to one of the mobile fitters who works for the company, there are only 300 of them now - down from 700 a couple of years ago. He added: "Fitters now have to travel 300 miles per day - up from 100 miles per day - for fewer jobs, with fuel prices constantly rising".
The company was sold by Aviva in 2008 to Arques Industries, a German private equity firm for a relatively token sum. Arques transferred ownership in December 2009 to Moguntia Invest GmbH, a business controlled by Arques executive Christian Daumann.
Read the latest update on Auto Windscreens.
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