The administrators of collapsed equipment hire firm Hewden have agreed to the sale of its Nottingham depot, saving five jobs.

The sale is part of a deal to offload all Hewden depots being sold as going concerns, safeguarding the jobs of a further 64 staff.

Depots in Inverness, Whitehaven, Willenhall and Bedford have been sold to Morris Leslie Plant Hire, with all 38 employees transferring to the new firm.

The Lewes depot has been sold to Gap Group Hire Solutions, with five employees transferring to the new owner, while the Nottingham depot has been sold to Nixon Hire, with five jobs saved.

The Warrington and Bangor depots were sold to Cheshire-based plant hire specialist JK Ashbrook in December, preserving 16 jobs. The new business will be called Ashbrook (Warrington) and Ashbrook (Bangor) respectively, based at the same locations previously operated by Hewden.

Colin Dempster of EY, who is joint administrator for Hewden, said: “We are pleased to be able to arrange the sale of these depots as ongoing concerns, so that the employees and business can continue in these locations.”

The announcement follows news that the administrators have appointed equipment and machinery auction house Euro Auctions to dispose of the company’s remaining assets, including 127 cranes.

Stretford-based Hewden employed 744 staff across 33 depots when it went into administration in November. Around 250 staff were made redundant immediately, with further redundancy rounds of around 90 and 45 staff.

Three divisions of the group were immediately sold to Ashtead Plant Hire Company for £29m, with 133 employees transferring across.

Overall, 19 depots have now either been sold or had employees transfer to new owners.

 

J.K.-Ashbrook-Ltd

GAP-Hire-Solutions

Nixon Hire

Morris Leslie Plant Hire

A-Plant


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