Total Polyfilm closure costs 200 jobs

Preston based Total Polyfilm has entered administration, with a majority of its 206 workforce losing their jobs. A team of 17 has been retained to assist winding down operations.

The firm had once produced 40,000 tonnes of polythene film for agricultural and industrial use each year, with annual revenues around £50m. It operated from a site in Lancashire and another in Brighouse, West Yorkshire.

However, the company never fully recovered from a major 2016 fire at its Walton Summit site. Though the property was rebuilt and became operational again, by then it had lost a number of key customers and its reduced order book led to liquidity problems.

Rick Harrison and David Costley-Wood from KPMG’s restructuring practice have been appointed joint administrators.

Rick said: “The directors of the business recently embarked on an accelerated sales process to bring further investment into the business. However, with the cash position of the company worsening rapidly, and despite a number of interested parties, a deal was unable to be concluded in the short timescales available.

“Our focus over the coming days will be to seek buyers for the business and assets of the company and to liaise with those employees who have been made redundant. With the support of the company’s lender, I am, however, pleased to say that we have reached an agreement to pay all of the redundant employees’ wage arrears.”

• Image from www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk
• For further Lancashire business news, advice and analysis subscribe to Lancashire Business View or join the LBV Hub from just £2.50 per month. Click here to subscribe now.