Troubled kitchen and bedroom furniture company William Ball has ceased trading and is heading towards liquidation.

The company, which was founded in 1963, shut up shop on Monday August 2, when all staff were dismissed. The company is now in a limbo where it has ceased to trade but is not yet formally in liquidation.

The downfall of William Ball has been played out in public after former managing director Terry Ball (pictured) hit out following his shock redundancy in June after 47 years with the company. He branded the move a 'betrayal' from board members that included his sister, brother-in-law and nephew.

The board subsequently said the redundancy was one of several necessary cuts made to 'reverse the sales losses it has sustained and the cost overhead structure it was operating under." Terry Ball has subsequently gone on to start his own business - Terence Ball Kitchens or TBK.

Accounts covering the year ending March 31, 2009 - only published in July 2010 - showed that William Ball had a pre-tax loss of £1.45 million.

On June 25, the company implemented a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to buy it time and keep creditors off its back as it made plans for recovery. At that time, acting CEO Anthony Pratt said the CVA meant "our customers can continue to trade with us fully confident in our ongoing support."

However, in the end, the CVA only delayed the final demise by five weeks as its biggest customer, Premier Kitchens and Bedrooms based in Peterborough, pulled its support.

The formality of a creditor's meeting will take place later this month. 

Iain Forsythe, managing director of Premier Kitchens & Bedrooms, told kbbreview that he was informed of Terry Ball's impending departure in April: "They outlined their plans going forward and wanted our commitment as a company, which we gave on the proviso that they would give us a full business plan at an agreed later date. 

"We then attended a meeting on May 19, looked at the business plan and felt it was flawed. It was flawed in terms of forecast growth in retail sales and their stability within the trade market place. Unfortunately, what we couldn't do was go to the cliff edge with them and allow them to drag us down,  so we made the decision after May 19 to look at alternative suppliers. We were welcomed with open arms and honesty from everybody. 

"As far as I'm concerned I've had to protect my 85 staff here as well as my family shareholding, which is 100% within the business. I'm saddened because William Ball has served us well but we've moved forward, however these changes mean it has been a difficult and costly time for Premier - we had 144 kitchen displays and 47 bedroom displays which we've had to change. The cost of that alone is just under £250,000."

UPDATE: 06/08/10 Anthony Pratt speaks out on William Ball closure

The liquidator acting on behalf of William Ball:

Debbie Cockerton, 

KSA Business Recovery and Insolvency Services, 

2 Nelson Street, 

Southend-on-Sea, 

Essex,SS1 1EF. 

T: (01702) 344558,

Email: insolenquiries@ksabr.com