A glazing and aluminium facade specialist had no net cash when administrators were appointed six months ago.
Architectural Glass and Aluminium Ltd (ARGLA), which went under in April, held cash in the bank. But it owed a Coronavirus Bounce Back loan, which cancelled out its entire cash pot.
In its first report into ARGLA’ s collapse, released yesterday (4 November), administrators from RSM Restructuring Advisory revealed that ARGLA went under with £30,000 in its Metro Bank account.
But it also owed the bank a Coronavirus Bounce Back loan worth £39,500, as part of overall debts to Metro worth £433,000.
ARGLA, which was based in the County Durham village of Murton, went under after it incurred losses on a major, undisclosed contract and had been embroiled in a legal dispute with an unnamed main contractor.
The administrators’ report also revealed that there was “no likelihood of a dividend being paid” to the firm’ sformer employees or its subcontractors.
Its 43 employees, who were made redundant immediately when ARGLA went into administration, are owed £33,700. An undisclosed number of subcontractors and supply chain partners will face a hit of £1.5m.
HMRC will also miss out on £118,400, with only secured creditors Metro Bank and investment firm Faro Capital likely to see any returns from their investments, according to the administrators.
In total, ARGLA owed Faro £3m when it went under. Faro is expected to see a “shortfall”, the report said.
Despite attempts to retrieve debts and retentions from a number of firms, RSM Restructuring revealed that it faced “a number of significant counter-claims” from ARGLA’s former customers and clients. Those exceed the book value of the debts that were sought, meaning RSM has dropped its initial claims.
Established in 2019, ARGLA specialised in the design, manufacture and installation of architectural facades and other products, mainly for commercial clients. Recently completed projects, announced a month before it went under, included facades on two buildings, DC3 and DC5 (pictured), for GMI Construction Group in Bowburn.
Ongoing work included a residential block in Dingwall Road, Croydon, and the Colchester Northern Gateway leisure centre in Essex.
In 2021 the firm moved its manufacturing operation from Leadgate, near Consett, to Jade Business Park in Murton, as part of an expansion strategy that saw staff numbers more than double in two years.
In its most recent accounts for the 15-month period to 30 September 2022, ARGLA reported net assets of £7,410, compared with net liabilities of £940,000 in its previous 12-month period to 31 May 2022.
