Jobs saved by rescue deal for contractor

A DERBYSHIRE construction and civil engineering business which fell into administration has been sold in a pre-pack deal.

Ilkeston’s Whytemount Civils has been acquired by Rhino Civils, a connected company.

Richard Pinder and Sean Williams, of Leonard Curtis Business Solution Group, were appointed as joint administrators of Whytemount Civils on August 4. They said the contractor had suffered financial difficulties as a result of several factors related to the pandemic.

The company directors raised additional capital and invested personal funds in a bid to save the business but administrators said it had reached a point where it was not able to trade out of its financial difficulties.

A marketing exercise conducted by Leonard Curtis resulted in 11 expressions of interest before the deal was completed with Rhino Civils which saved all eight staff.

Mr Pinder said: “Unfortunately, market conditions have resulted in Whytemount Civils being unable to continue to operate. The transaction had to be completed in a very short timeframe which was governed by the lack of working capital within the company.

“We believe that the pre-pack has maximised asset realisations for creditors and, most importantly, safeguarded the employees’ livelihoods. We’d like to thank the company directors for their cooperation in what was a very distressing time for them.”