Troubled kitchen furniture company William Ball has agreed terms with its creditors to protect it from collapse.

The company, currently embroiled in a very public argument with former MD Terry Ball, has implemented a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) following a creditors meeting on June 25.

"This is a legally enforceable deal between a company and its creditors," said acting CEO Anthony Pratt. "It places a ring fence around the company and stops creditors pursuing it. It allows a viable but struggling company to repay some or all of its historic debts out of future profits over a period of time.

"This is a huge step forward for the company, its employees, its customers, its creditors and its shareholders. It provides the time that is needed for the new business plan to be fully implemented and it means that, despite the uncertainties of the last few weeks, our customers can continue to trade with us fully confident in our ongoing support."

The 'difficulties of the last few weeks' are the dispute between William Ball and former MD Terry Ball who was made redundant after 47 years with the company. The move came from a board that included his sister, brother-in-law and nephew.

Terry Ball branded the move a "betrayal" and said the board had made him "a scapegoat by enforcing redundancy in the most despicable way."

However, the company said difficult choices were necessary to reverse the 'significant cumulative losses' it had been making since 2002. "The simple fact is that the board has been forced to make some very tough decisions in order to reverse the sales losses it has sustained and the cost overhead structure it was operating under," said sales and marketing director Peter Loftus (pictured).

Terry Ball has now set up a new company  - Terence Ball Kitchens Ltd or TBK - to carry on in the industry. "The name Ball is synonymous with quality and is well known to many consumers and the KBB industry" he said. "It is therefore an opportunity for TBK Ltd to build on that reputation."

Production of the first kitchens is due to start by mid-July, Ball said, with first deliveries in August.