Following the demise of Mereway Kitchens last year, Mereway Bathrooms has now closed its doors and appointed liquidators.
The Birmingham-based business has entered a creditors voluntary liquidation (CVL), with Benjamin Neil Jones and Rajnesh Mittal of FRP Advisory being appointed to handle the process.
FRP also handled the recent administration of International Decorative Surfaces (IDS), as well as the administration of Leicestershire-based Aqualux Products earlier this year.
A CVL is initiated by directors or shareholders when they believe their company’s financial problems have taken it beyond the point of rescue.
According to Companies House, Mereway Bathrooms is several weeks overdue to file its annual confirmation statement. Phone calls to Mereway’s head office have also gone unanswered.
Several of Mereway’s retail partners also told kbbreview that they had received a notice from the company informing them that it was entering liquidation. This was sent out on November 7, and was said to inform retailers that they could no longer place any orders with the company.
Confirming the news to kbbreview, liquidator FRP Advisory said: “Following an unsuccessful attempt to secure a purchaser for the business and assets, the Company ceased trading on 7 November 2024. Regrettably, all 50 employees were made redundant and are now being supported by FRP’s team to file claims with the Redundancy Payments Service.
“The proposed Liquidators, Ben Jones and Raj Mittal of FRP, are working with the directors to facilitate an orderly wind down. All known creditors have been notified of the proposed liquidation and the decision date for the liquidation has been convened for 20 November 2024.”
FRP Advisory also said: “The Company faced challenging trading conditions due to a downturn in the market, which resulted in cash flow difficulties that ultimately impacted its ability to continue trading. The same trading conditions have been experienced by the Company’s competitors, with a number of recent insolvencies in the sector.”
Earlier in the year Mereway Kitchens also closed its doors for good. The kitchen company originally filed notice of intent to appoint administrators in August 2023, before being purchased by Sigma 3 Group later in the month.
Unfortunately, the business continued to falter despite “substantial investment” from Sigma 3 subsidiary Highlight Green Acres, leading to the eventual closure.
Although they share a common name, Mereway Kitchens and Mereway Bathrooms operated as separate business entities, so Mereway Bathrooms was able to carry on trading following the kitchen company’s demise.
Following news breaking about Mereway Kitchens’ administration in August 2023, Mereway Bathrooms insisted that things were carrying on as usual at the bathroom company, reassuring its customers that at the time, it was “unaffected” by the situation at Mereway Kitchens.
Kbbreview has reached out to both Mereway Bathrooms for comment.