Wardell Armstrong acquires Cumbria company
Stoke-on-Trent-based engineering consultancy Wardell Armstrong has bought North Pennines Archaeology (NPA) out of administration.
NPA, an archaeological consultancy based in Cumbria, entered administration in July after being faced with a winding up petition. Linda Farish and Anthony Josephs from Newcastle-based insolvency firm RMT Accountants were appointed as joint administrators.
The buyer formed a new company called NP Archaeology, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal has saved 18 jobs.
Farish said: "After being initially approached by the directors of the company, were very pleased to have helped to achieve a satisfactory outcome for the business, its employees and customers.
"We worked very closely with the directors to make sure that the business was fully marketed and the offer which came from Wardell was progressed to completion."
Dave Hodgkinson, Wardell Armstrong’s technical director of archaeology and heritage, added: "It is highly respected in its specialised field with a considerable pool of experience, knowledge and skills, and we see an excellent fit between our two organisations.
"Building on our existing relationship, we’ll be able to provide clients with an all-encompassing, cost-effective and fully integrated archaeological and heritage service from the very outset of a project."
