Safestyle directors 'are likely to be required to place company into liquidation'

Earlier this week, administrators for Safestyle said the business had made around 680 of its workers redundant.

The company failed after facing a series of pressures, including runaway inflation and poor consumer confidence, administrators said. The unseasonably warm weather in September also affected demand for its products.

In a statement issued on Friday, Safestyle said: “On 30 October 2023, Safestyle announced that administrators had been appointed to its subsidiaries H.P.A.S. Limited, Style Group Holdings Limited and Style Group UK Limited.

"Upon the appointment of the administrators, Safestyle ceased to control and/or conduct substantially all of its business activities and assets and, as a consequence, Safestyle is now regarded as an AIM Rule 15 cash shell.

"In light of such developments, the directors are now taking legal advice and are likely to be required to place Safestyle into liquidation in due course.

“As an AIM Rule 15 Cash Shell, Safestyle is required to make an acquisition, or acquisitions, which constitutes a reverse takeover under AIM Rule 14 or seek to become an investing company pursuant to AIM Rule 8 within six months from 30 October 2023, failing which its shares will remain suspended.

"Given the liquidation process which is now expected to commence, Safestyle is not currently pursuing such a transaction and it is therefore anticipated that once liquidators have been appointed, the admission to trading on AIM of the company's ordinary shares will be cancelled.”

On October 30, Interpath Advisory said around 70 of the door and window maker’s 750 employees would be kept on in the short term to help wind down the business.

The Bradford-headquartered business has a manufacturing site in Wombwell, near Barnsley and 42 branches and depots across the country.

Rick Harrison, managing director at Interpath Advisory, said: “These are really challenging times for companies across the home improvement market.

“After seeing strong sales during the Covid lockdown periods, many companies are seeing trading being impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and soaring costs. Unfortunately for Safestyle, and despite the tireless efforts of the management team over recent months, these challenges have proven too difficult to overcome. Our immediate priority will be to provide support to those impacted by redundancy, including supporting them in making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service where relevant.”

Responding to the announcement, Bob McNeill an organiser for the GMB union, said Safestyle’s UK workers had been treated abysmally.

Administrators said customer orders that have not been delivered will not now be fulfilled.