Julian Pitts and Bob Maxwell, partners at Begbies Traynor, have been appointed as joint administrators of William Anelay Ltd, York, one of Britain’s longest-established construction and heritage restoration companies which has collapsed with the loss of 126 jobs
The £38m turnover family business was experiencing cash flow problems and sought a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) with creditors, but was placed into administration when a CVA proved unviable.
William Anelay, which has been trading since 1747, has completed scores of high-profile historic and listed buildings schemes throughout the UK including Lambeth Palace and Wilton’s Music Hall, London. It has won numerous awards and had 17 schemes on site, including those at York Mansion House, Bradford City Hall and Lancaster Castle.
Julian Pitts, joint administrator and Begbies Traynor partner, said: ‘It is very sad to see the demise of such a historic Yorkshire family business. Unfortunately, William Anelay ran into cash flow difficulties following a period of expansion and problems with some complex projects.
‘We will be working closely with the management to realise returns for creditors and will keep the employees fully informed as the situation becomes clearer. We are now in discussions with various interested parties and are hopeful that it may prove possible to novate some of the company’s contracts to ensure that work can be completed with the minimum of disruption to clients.’.
Chairman and special projects director Charles Anelay, the eighth generation of the founding family, said: ‘We have worked very hard to save the business and do the best for our creditors by proposing a CVA. We really believed that we had a good plan to get through our cash difficulties, and were supported by our bank and HMRC.
‘The last few weeks have been the worst of my life. We are hugely disappointed that it has come to this.
‘All I can hope is that at some point in the future people will look back at William Anelay Ltd and recognise 260 years of skilled craftsmanship which gave us the privilege to restore parts of our country’s architectural heritage with some amazing projects on some very special buildings which will be admired far into the future.’
William Anelay also operates associated businesses Lowery Roofing, Hare and Ransome Joinery, Anelay Traditional Masonry and Anelay Building and Conservation, all of which are unaffected by the administration and will continue to trade as normal.
