HD rescues 25 jobs at Palgrave Brown

It was a real case of one door closing and another one opening for some staff at troubled timber merchant Palgrave Brown.

After a great deal of hard work with Ian Douglass, from Douglass Grange Chartered Accountants, we helped safeguard 25 jobs following the acquisition of Palgrave Brown’s doors division.

We advised Pendle Doorsets Limited on its acquisition of the business and assets comprising Palgrave Brown’s door division based in Castleford. The purchaser also agreed new lease terms with British Waterways for the continued operation of the business from its canal side premises.

Palgrave Brown, the Chorley-based manufacturer of roof trusses and timber-engineered products, was placed into administration in November 2008 after falling victim to the property market downturn. BDO Stoy Hayward were appointed as administrative receivers and eventually had to make more than 400 redundancies across 17 sites throughout the UK.

There were at least three other interested parties looking to acquire Palgrave Brown’s door business so we had to act quickly and decisively. Fortunately, we managed to conclude the deal for our client in just one week and, more importantly, help save 25 jobs.

This acquisition will allow our client to strengthen its position in the marketplace and provide an even better service to customers.