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A reputable Cornish kitchen company was making a turnover of £6 million when it went bust last month. Sister companies Kettle Kitchen Co and KCM Kitchens both went into liquidation owing hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The kitchen design company, with showrooms in Plymouth, St Austell, Bodmin and Liskeard, and the manufacturing company, based in Exeter, went bust owing around £744,000 to creditors. It was one of the leading premier kitchen businesses in the South West and was involved in several high-profile projects across the country.
That includes leading the design of a new kitchen range by interior designer and TV personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, a partnership that is still going ahead.
Both companies, directed by Dale Williams, ceased trading and entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation on Friday, September 13. Luke Venner and Malcolm Rhodes, of Bishop Fleming LLP, have been appointed as joint liquidators.
Bishop Fleming LLP said both companies were showing a turnover in excess of £6m in their latest financial statements. Management cited that decreasing demand, inflationary pressures and increasing finance costs were the principal contributing factors to the business’s demise.
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Mr Venner, restructuring and insolvency partner at Bishop Fleming, said: “This has been a very challenging period for the company’s stakeholders and in particular its employees, suppliers and customers. We are pleased that the sale of the order book to Haven Kitchens Limited, who are committed to ensuring mutual customers have the opportunity to have their kitchens completed and installed, will mitigate customer losses.
“Our attention now turns to completing our strategy concerning the sale of the company’s tangible assets for the benefit of creditors, and investigating the circumstances surrounding the company’s failure.”
Haven Kitchens Limited was incorporated on August 23 with the company founded by Cornish business HBH Woolacotts as a result of the collapse. The electrical superstore was the home of the four Kettle Co Kitchen showrooms across Cornwall and Plymouth.
(Image: Google Maps)
Chris Hemmerle, director of HBH Woolacotts, said the electrical company has stepped in to fulfil all outstanding orders across the four Kettle Co Group showrooms, despite having no affiliation with it outside of the shared premises.
He said some of the customers left out of pocket by the collapse had paid 100 per cent of their bill upfront to Kettle Co Kitchens without receiving their kitchens. Despite having no business link, he said: “We weren’t comfortable that it happened in our stores and we’ve effectively funded that and put it right for them.”.
Designer Llewelyn-Bowen teamed up with Exeter-based manufacturer KCM Kitchens for the launch of its Quintessential Kitchens by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen range just months before the manufacturing company went into voluntary liquidation. Despite Williams’ companies going bust he will continue to work on the project, reports business magazine kbbreview.
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Source: www.cornwalllive.com