S Robinson & Sons crumbles with 118 job losses
Derby-based engineering company S Robinson & Sons has been wound down with the loss of at least 118 jobs. Administrators from accountancy firm KPMG were appointed to the collapse, which was attributed to a rapid decline in orders and subsequent cashflow difficulties.
On appointment, administrators Will Wright and Mark Orton secured 17 jobs with the sale of Robinson's Agriculture, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the parent company, to LBJ Limited.
The administrators were appointed on 19 October 2011. It is the latest in a series of blows for Derby's economy – the threat of closure and job losses from trainmaker Bombardier and credit card supplier Egg still hangs over the city.
S Robinson & Sons employed 130 people at its Derby site. Poor economic conditions were blamed on the collapse, as the company experienced "a rapid decline" in orders from the construction industry for structural engineering.
It had previously won several orders for projects in relation to the now mothballed Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme.
Upon the administrators' appointment, 118 redundancies were made. The remaining 12 employees will assist the administrators in the orderly wind down of the business, confirmed KPMG.
Will Wright from KPMG said: "In common with many in this sector the economic environment has had an adverse impact on the order book.
"Despite the best efforts of all involved it was not possible to find a solution for the whole business although we were pleased to secure a sale of the subsidiary company which preserved 17 jobs."
S Robinson & Sons, which was formed in 1964, specialized in structural engineering, steel fabrication and the construction of industrial and agricultural steel buildings.
The company was bought by turnaround specialist R Capital in December 2010 after it had been up for sale for a year. R Capital is renowned for having turned around the fortunes of the Little Chef restaurant chain several years ago.
R Capital was not available for comment when contacted by Insider.
