Production at Cleveland Bridge resumed shortly after it went into administration in but will now stop completely before the end of the month.
All staff are to be laid off.
Martyn Pullin, David Willis, and Iain Townsend of business advisory firm FRP were appointed joint administrators on 22nd July 2021 and restarted production on 9th August. Since then, they have tried to find a buyer that is willing and able to maintain the business as a going concern. There was contact from interested parties across the globe, they said, and one seemed particularly promising.
However, the potential buyer has so far been unable to provide the necessary assurances to confirm their ability to proceed. The administrators say that they will “keep this dialogue open” but are preparing to close the business following completion of final production 24th September 2021.
Of the 221 employees at time of administration, 104 staff are currently working on site and a further 29 are furloughed. Further redundancies will now be made, with all remaining staff made redundant when production ceases.
FRP partner Martyn Pullin, one of the administrators, said: “We have worked tirelessly in the hope of finding a buyer who would continue to operate Cleveland Bridge as a going concern, running a thorough and extensive sales process. However, with no current viable offers remaining to take the business on, we must now prepare for a property and asset sale.
“Regrettably, production will finally end on site later this month. Our specialist employment team will continue to work closely with the staff, their representatives, unions and the council to support all the workers through what we know has been an extremely challenging time.”
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