Window and door company, Safestyle UK, has recently entered into administration and had to make approximately 680 of its employees redundant. The company based in Bradford, West Yorkshire had a manufacturing site in Wombwell and over 40 branches and depots across the UK. Following a failed search for a buyer, administrators Interpath Advisory issued a public statement on Friday stating Safestyle UK had suspended share trading.
According to the statement, the company faced issues including “high cost inflation” and “fragile customer confidence,” and the unseasonably warm weather in September did not help their sales performance. Given these challenges, Interpath Advisory decided to lay off staff, but plans to keep around 70 employees in the short term to facilitate an orderly wind-down of the business.
Rick Harrison, Interpath Managing Director, commented on the unfortunate circumstance, stating: “This will be particularly devastating for the company’s employees as well as the many self-employed contractors who worked on behalf of the company,” adding that the challenges posed by rising costs have been too tiresome for the company to overcome.
Safestyle UK only recently experienced high sales during lockdown periods as a result of Covid. However, as the wider economy is under increasing strain, many other businesses are facing difficulties, and the cost of living crisis and soaring costs have only slightly subsided.
It is not known how many of Safestyle’s employees were self-employed contractors, but such individuals are vulnerable in such a situation. Interpath Advisory made it clear that the company’s failure will be a challenge for many people, including the employees and self-employed contractors who depend on them economically
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