An examiner was appointed to the company this week by a Dublin court and Grafton said it would continue to support Atlantic through the restructing and was prepared to invest in making arrangements for its future.
Atlantic is the smaller of two Grafton DIY chains in Ireland and accounts for less than 3% of group revenues. It was acquired in the Heiton Group acquisition in 2005 and has made a loss since 2007.
Turnover has fallen 44% to €56m. Ireland’s largest DIY chain, Woodie’s DIY, remains a mainstay of Grafton’s business.
In the UK Grafton is the fourth largest merchanting business trading from 426 locations through brands such as Buildbase and Jackson Building Centres. Grafton said UK, Belgian and other subsidiaries would be not be affected by the move.
An independent report by KPMG said it was possible for a sustainable and profitable business to emerge from Atlantic. Grafton said the business had been severely affected by the recession, and the company’s ability to reduce operating costs had been inhibited by "upward only" rent reviews.
