Administrator Leonard Curtis has secured the sale of certain assets of one of Walsall’s oldest domestic bathroom manufacturers to IBC Products Limited after the company ceased trading.
Neil Bennett and Dane O’Hara of Leonard Curtis were appointed administrators of Imperial Bathrooms Limited on 31 January 2023 and immediately completed the asset sale to IBC Products Limited.
Imperial Bathrooms, founded in 1987, was a manufacturer and distributor of hand-crafted bathroom fixtures and fittings based in Aldridge, West Midlands – employing 37 members of staff.
Whilst the Company had ceased trading prior to the Administration, the sale of certain assets to IBC Products Limited has secured the future of this long-standing brand.
Dane O’Hara (pictured), one of the appointed administrators, commented: “Despite an accelerated but thorough M&A process, attracting in excess of 60 expressions of interest, we were sadly not able to identify a purchaser for the business and assets of the Company on a going concern basis.
“Traditional manufacturing businesses in the UK are faced with a host of difficulties in the current climate, competing on price with overseas manufacturers whilst trying to manage the ever-increasing overhead and energy costs.
“The Company was one of very few domestic manufacturers remaining in this sector, and despite the cessation of its manufacturing activities we are pleased that the sale of certain assets to IBC Products Limited will ensure that this prestigious brand continues into the future”.
Dane added: “We are continuing to liaise with all key stakeholders concerning the Administration process and anticipate substantial returns to the Company’s secured, preferential and secondary preferential creditors, as well as a potential return to unsecured creditors.”