Atlas Leisure Homes: Around 180 jobs lost as Yorkshire caravan maker falls into administration

The administration follows what Steven McGawn, managing director of Atlas Leisure Homes, described as a “challenging few years”.

The company, which manufactured static caravans and holiday homes, said it had seen its order book decline over recent years at a time when operating costs had also increased significantly.

The decision to appoint administrators follows attempts to secure new investment, with the business having undergone two additional restructuring exercises over the course of the last two years.

Mr McGawn said: “We, alongside our competitors, have shared in the market downturn that followed the pandemic in what has been a very challenging few years for everyone in the industry.

“To allow the business to survive The Board and Shareholders had engaged with third party investors, and we had generated strong interest in taking the business forward. However, ultimately a deal wasn’t possible and it is with great regret that we now must place the business into administration.

“It is an incredibly disappointing time as I know a huge amount of people will look back on our 50 plus years of trading with great pride and fondness.”

Atlas Leisure Homes operated from two sites in Hull. The company opened its second manufacturing site in 2020 and said it had seen a significant increase in demand during the pandemic.

Administrators Mark Hodgett and Allan Kelly from FRP Advisory said that they were now supporting the roughly 180 employees with applications to the Redundancy Payments Service.

A small number of employees have been retained to assist the administrators with an “orderly wind down” of the business.

Mr Hodgett said: “The caravan and holiday homes industry benefitted significantly from the boom in staycations during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with demand falling away and an influx of new homes having come to the market, operating conditions have become extremely difficult for manufacturers who are contending with the dual challenge of increased costs.

"Despite the best efforts of the management team, unfortunately the business was unable to continue trading solvently without new investment. Regrettably this has meant the loss of a long-standing business and employer in the community.”