140 jobs go as factory shuts
SCORES of people have been made redundant following the closure of a Derbyshire factory making modular buildings for homes.
At the Urban Splash factory, in Somercotes, 140 people have lost their jobs following the failure of the US House Group, a joint venture between Urban Splash, Japanese firm Sekisui House UK and minority shareholder Homes England.
At the time of the appointment of Teneo as administrator, the group had 187 employees, with 151 working at the factory and the majority of the remaining employees working at the development sites. A total of 160 jobs have been lost.
The collapse of the venture has been blamed on operational problems at the factory at the Clover Nook Industrial Estate.
Administrators will now try to find a buyer for the Derbyshire factory and oversee either the sale or completion of the development sites up and down the country.
The US House Group is a joint venture between the Manchesterheadquartered property company Sekisui House UK – a subsidiary of the Japan-based Sekisui – and Homes England who own the remaining 4% of shares. Both Urban Splash and Sekisui House UK own 48% of the shares each. Its modular homes have been used on sites such as Wirral Waters and New Islington in Manchester.
The Alfreton factory came under the umbrella of US Modular Ltd which had 151 employees on site, of whom only 11 have been retained. US House Holdings Ltd employed 36 people and 20 have been made redundant.
Daniel Smith and Adrian Berry of Teneo Financial Advisory Ltd were appointed as joint administrators of Urban Splash House Holdings Ltd, Urban Splash House Investments Ltd, Urban Splash House Ltd, Urban Splash Modular
Ltd, Port Loop Holdings Ltd, Port Loop Ltd and Port Loop (Subco1) Ltd (together “the US House Group”) on May 11.
An Urban Splash statement said: “The directors of House – (Urban Splash House Holdings Group) have appointed administrators from Teneo to the company.
“The appointment of Teneo senior managing directors Adrian Berry and Daniel Smith to the company has no impact on the wider Urban Splash group or its operations, which continue to run successfully.
“House is a joint venture between individual shareholders who own 48% of the equity, Homes England which owns 4% and Sekisui House UK Ltd, which owns the remaining 48% shares. The administrators will oversee completion and sale strategies for the company’s developments.”
Joint administrator Adrian Berry said: “This appointment follows various operational issues relating to the factory in Alfreton, which have impacted the wider group.
“We will now look to stabilise the US House Group by providing a platform to complete certain developments and explore sale options for the factory and the other development sites.
“We would like to thank all employees and other key stakeholders for their continued support.”
‘OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS’ AT PLANT THAT MAKES MODULAR BUILDINGS