Jobs saved after surf brand bought in pre-pack administration
20/08/2018
A Devon-based leisurewear and accessories company has been bought in a pre-pack administration with 162 jobs saved.
The business and assets of Saltrock Surfwear have been acquired by a subsidiary of Crew Clothing Co. Twenty five of the company’s thirty stores will be retained with the remaining five closing and twenty nine redundancies made.
David Pike and Mark Orton from KPMG were appointed joint administrators to Saltrock Surfwear Ltd on 17 August.
David Pike, joint administrator and partner at KPMG, said: “Following recent challenges the business has faced and in line with current experience across the retail sector, the company’s management team has worked hard to try to turn the business round and formulate a rescue bid.
“The sale via ‘pre pack’ was required to provide the business with as much stability as possible by securing a new owner and finance for the business. This deal will see over 160 jobs transfer to the new owners.
“Sadly a number of redundancies will be made over the coming days. Our priority is to ensure all employees who have been affected receive the information and support they need in order to claim monies owed from the Redundancy Payments Office.”
David Butler, Crew Clothing’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to announce that we have acquired Saltrock, the well-established surfwear retailer with a strong South West presence, and in doing so we are pleased to have been able to protect the future of the brand and more importantly a significant number of the current employees of the business.
“Through this transaction we have now added Saltrock to our growing and successful portfolio. It presents us with a huge opportunity and allows us to maximise our supply chain and operations, giving great potential to the Saltrock brand. We welcome their employees to our team and we aim to make the transition as smooth as possible for them.”
On behalf of Saltrock’s board, James Brent said: “We are proud of the growth we’ve achieved over the last eight years, but now is the time for Crew to drive the business forward. We wish them and the employees every success in the future. Saltrock is a very strong brand with a great story and team behind it. We very much look forward to seeing them realise the potential of the business and are pleased that they are retaining the significant majority of staff at head office, in the distribution centre and in stores.”
The deal team was led by KPMG and involved Temple Bright, Osborne Clarke and Addleshaw Goddard.
This article appeared on the Insider Media website on 20 August 2018.
