Administrators appointed at packaging firm as buyer sought

Administrators from FRP Advisory are seeking a buyer for iTEC Packaging, a designer and manufacturer of plastic packaging. The business fell into administration earlier this month after facing significant financial pressures following a period of difficult trading conditions.

FRP’s Martyn Rickels, Simon Farr and Allan Kelly were subsequently appointed as joint administrators to iTEC Packaging (Mansfield) Limited and iTEC Packaging (Chester-Le-Street) Limited. The joint administrators will continue trading the firm and seek to fulfil outstanding order where possible while the business and its assets are marketed for sale.

Upon their appointment, 44 roles were made redundant, with the remainder of iTEC’s 247 staff retained to assist in the administration process. The company operated a significant manufacturing operation across its two sites, providing services including compression moulding, thermoforming, injection moulding and extrusion.

In the year ending December 31 2021, iTEC Packaging (Mansfield) Limited reported revenue of close to £26.9 million, but fell to a pre-tax loss of £1.5 million. At the time, its net assets were valued at £10 million. During the same period, iTEC Packaging (Chester-Le-Street) Limited reported revenue of £23.3 million and a pre-tax loss of £7.2 million. Its net liabilities amounted to £16.3 million.

Outlining the reasons for its losses, iTEC Packaging (Mansfield) Limited cited higher material and labour costs and lower turnover from lids as retailers looked to reduce their use of single use plastic packaging. iTEC Packaging (Chester-Le-Street) Limited, meanwhile, cited the continuing impact of COVID-19 and final costs from closing the company’s Stanley and Livingston sites, the operations of which were transferred to the Chester-le-Street site.

Commenting on the administration process, joint administrator Martyn Rickels said: "iTEC Packaging has sizeable operations in Chester-Le-Street and Mansfield with manufacturing capabilities that can produce a vast range of packaging products. We have begun a marketing process to find a buyer and encourage any interested parties to come forward. In the meantime, we are trading the business as we fulfil outstanding orders for customers."


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