The assets of Latvia’s biggest timber business Nelss have been frozen pending resolution of a disagreement with lenders over borrowings, and shipments to its UK business have halted as a result.
Kent-based Nelss (UK) Ltd sent a letter to customers this week to inform them of the situation.
“We thanked them for their support, but said for the time-being we cannot ship or sell any timber,” said managing director Kevin Hayes. “It’s a difficult situation, obviously. Effectively we’re in limbo.”
Mr Hayes acknowledged that there had been rumours in the UK trade that Nelss was bankrupt or had been put into receivership, but said this was “categorically not true”.
“The position is that there is a dispute between Nelss and its lenders and until that is resolved the company’s assets have been ring-fenced and it is difficult to say much more, or make any predictions.”
The case, added Mr Hayes, was unlikely to be resolved overnight and could take four to six weeks.
“So it’s not possible to make a long-term prognosis at present,” he said. “We will be keeping a close eye on the situation and will keep customers informed as far as we can.”
