London builders’ merchant Hitchcock & King has entered administration after 50 years in business.
Steve Absolom and Nick Holloway from Interpath Advisory were yesterday (31 July) appointed as joint administrators of the £13m-turnover firm after sale efforts failed. Twenty-seven staff were immediately made redundant, with 37 kept on to shift remaining stock.
The firm had struggled with “the impact of rising costs and decreasing margins”, according to administrators.
Absolom said it was “an extremely sad day for this long-running family business and its team of hardworking, loyal employees.”
In its final set of accounts, directors said sales had slumped as the economic environment discouraged people from spending on repairs, maintenance and home improvement.
Material price inflation, combined with falling house prices and rising interest rates, propelled the firm to a pre-tax loss of £1.3m, down from a profit of £1.1m the previous year.
Hitchcock & King had six sites across south-west London and the surrounding counties, in Ashford, Burgh Heath, Fulham, Hammersmith, Streatham and Twickenham.
Interpath Advisory said it would support staff made redundant, including by helping them make claims to the government’s Redundancy Payments Service.
