The manufacturing assets of a Suffolk garden office manufacturer are being auctioned off after a company restructure.
The Thurston-based manufacturing business SMART Offices Limited, established in 2006, entered liquidation on February 5. The move does not affect the business of Smart Modular Buildings Ltd, which is engaged in sales and marketing functions and is now sourcing its buildings via a third-party partner.
Matt Moss, CEO of Smart Modular Buildings, told TTJ that a strategic decision had been made recently to end in-house manufacturing due to a number of factors, including increased NI contributions, withdrawal of R&D tax credits, a challenging and competitive market and other Government bureaucratic burdens impacting manufacturing.
Mr Moss said that the manufacturing business SMART Offices Ltd had recorded a turnover of around £6.5m in the financial year ended June 2024 and recorded a profit. But due to the factors mentioned above a restructure was necessary.
Mr Moss said Smart Modular Buildings, established in 2019, was now working in partnership with Blackburn-based Direct Sips to make its product range.
“We would have had to invest £1.5m – £2m into an automated production line [to stay competitive] and there are already companies out there with these facilities.”
“Our new partnership has allowed us to expand the product portfolio and enter the commercial and leisure markets,” he told TTJ. “We have a strong brand and enquiry levels are good.”
Mr Moss said all redundancy payments/ settlements had been completed relating to the closure of the factory at Thurston. The auction of manufacturing assets and a sale of the freehold site were taking place to satisfy monies owed to SMART Offices Limited creditors, including HMRC.
BPI Asset Advisory is managing the online auction of assets of SMART Offices Limited.
BPI’s asset auction features over 250 lots, including a wide range of high-quality woodworking machinery, commercial vehicles and modular garden rooms. This includes SCM Tech CNC Machining Centres, Felder machinery, stocks of MDF, and DAF LF 45.180 7.5t lorries.
The auction will close on Friday March 21 at 12pm.
