A buy-in management buyout (BIMBO) deal for an undisclosed sum has saved 100 jobs and a substantial part of the business at Leicester-based woodworking machinery manufacturer Wadkin.
The firm was put in the hands of administrative receiver Ernst & Young on March 6 and 185 workers were made redundant.
Leading the buyout was Peter Smith, a former Wadkin consultant, together with Nigel Smith, a director of the original Wadkin group, and brothers Francis and Nigel Dalton, the owners of Nottingham-based AL Dalton Ltd, a distributor of Wadkin machinery for more than 40 years.
The original company has been split into two – Wadkin Manufacturing Ltd, which is making the full Classical range of machines, and Wadkin Ultracare Ltd, which provides the after-sales service, including tooling, the full grinder range, spare parts and a repair and maintenance service for all machinery, including CNC routers.
William Tacon from Ernst & Young said: ‘We had a considerable level of interest in Wadkin from the outset, because it is an international business with well-known branding.
‘The sales have vindicated our marketing strategy for the businesses and they will be good news for jobs,’ he said.
Nigel Smith commented: ‘We have kept the bits of the business that are viable. The redundancies were a great shame but the vast majority of workers have got other employment.’
The owners of Daltons joined the buyout after losing a large slice of business since Wadkin went into administrative receivership.
Moulders and routers will not be manufactured. Most of the redundancies were in this area.
European competition, especially in the moulder and router market, and the strength of the pound were the primary factors causing the original financial difficulties.
