
Major manufacturer that supplies railway operators suddenly closes after 50 years as over 30 staff made redundant
A key update was issued after the employer made all of its staff redundant and began a fire sale of its assets.
3
3
Manufacturer Dale (Mansfield) Limited appointed administrators in October last year.
However all 34 employees at the company, which was established in the early 1970s, were made redundant after the business failed to find a purchaser or investor.
Administrators from Leonard Curtis have been selling off the business ' assets since they were appointed, but newly released information show it is now shutting down entirely.
Documents recently filed with Companies House show Dale's former headquarters has now been sold to haulage firm Maurice Hill Transport Limited for £1.2 million, reports Nottingham Post.
The property is based on a three-acre site and is divided into two main buildings, both with manufacturing and office accommodation space.
The money raised by its sale will be used to pay the company's creditors, including Lloyds Bank and HMRC.
Its equipment and stock has also been sold off by the administrators, who revealed in financial documents that up to this point more than £62,000 had been raised by selling scrap metal and other materials from the closed factory.
Basford-based auctioneer John Pye Auctions was appointed to sell some of the company's other items and raised £194,653 in total from sales of furniture, cars, and machinery.
Administrators had been told Dale's intellectual property could sell for as much as £80,000.
But sadly the administrators said: "customer interest in the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) has been disappointing thus far" and that it was unlikely to hit this sum.
Scottish firm goes bust after plunging into administration
The firm's managers said it expected Lloyds, HMRC, and priority creditors - like former staff - would be repaid in full.
The taxman had claimed £282,430 from the business, while employee-related claims totalled £47,625.
Mansfield is in north Nottinghamshire and has a proud history of coal mining and textiles industries.
The firm's website said its mining and oil rig equipment had been used in the Caspian Sea, Sardinia, Azerbaijan, the Gulf of Mexico, and in South Wales.
However, following the decline of the UK mining industry, Dale's diversified into other industries including manufacturing hydraulic cylinders.
What does going into administration mean?
WHEN a company enters into administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator.
The administrator has to leverage the company's assets and business to repay creditors any outstanding debts.
Once a company enters administration, a "moratorium" is put in place which means no legal action can be taken against it.
Administrators write to your creditors and Companies House to say they've been appointed.
They try to stop the company from being liquidated (closing down), and if it can't it pays as much of a company's debts from its remaining assets.
The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do to move the business forward.
This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invite them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting.
A Notice of Intention is used to inform concerning parties that a company intends to enter administration.
It is a physical document which is submitted to court, usually by directors aiming to prevent a company from being liquidated.
Like with a standard administration process, a Notice of Intention stops creditors from taking out any legal action over a company while they try and rectify the business.
Dale's website explained it had worked with Eurostar, which operates international train services between Paris, London, Amsterdam and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel.
Richard Pinder, director of restructuring and insolvency at Leonard Curtis, said last year: 'The company ran a marketing campaign last year to find a purchaser or investor to take the business forward which unfortunately was unsuccessful.
"Upon my instruction to advise the company, it was clear that its financial and operational position was such that there was no realistic prospect of avoiding a cessation of trade.
"And there was insufficient working capital or work in progress to support continued trade, even in the immediate short term.
'We are currently assisting the Redundancy Payments Service in dealing with the processing and payment of employee claims for redundancy and their other entitlements."
Mr Pinder added that it was "uncertain" if unsecured creditors, such as companies owed money by Dale, would get much money back through the administration.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK's IG Group beats annual profit estimates, launches $170 million buyback
July 24 (Reuters) - British online trading platform IG Group (IGG.L), opens new tab beat full-year pre-tax profit expectations and launched a 125-million-pound ($169.56 million) share buyback programme on Thursday, driven by a surge in trading volumes amid recent market turbulence. The company's adjusted pre-tax profit came in at 535.8 million pounds ($726.81 million) for the year ended May 31, compared with analysts' expectations of 523.5 million pounds, according to a company-compiled poll. ($1 = 0.7372 pounds)


South Wales Guardian
27 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi set to agree Britain-India trade deal
The Prime Minister and his Indian counterpart also agreed ahead of their meeting on Thursday to ramp up joint efforts to tackle illegal migration and organised crime. The UK-India trade deal is understood to be the largest of its kind for its economic impact on Britain. It will see tariffs on an array of British goods reduced from an average of 15% to 3%, with the aim of boosting the £11 billion of imports into the south Asian nation. Whisky tariffs will be slashed in half, according to the Government, and will fall further over successive years, while other industries including soft drinks, cars and cosmetics are also expected to see cheaper duties. Before his meeting with Mr Modi to confirm the deal, Sir Keir said: 'Our landmark trade deal with India is a major win for Britain. It will create thousands of British jobs across the UK, unlock new opportunities for businesses and drive growth in every corner of the country, delivering on our Plan for Change. 'We're putting more money in the pockets of hardworking Brits and helping families with the cost of living, and we're determined to go further and faster to grow the economy and raise living standards across the UK.' The deal is expected to result in 2,200 jobs across the country and £6 billion investment by British and Indian businesses. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the investment will 'reach all regions and nations of the UK so working people in every community can feel the benefits'. He added: 'The almost £6 billion in new investment and export wins announced today will deliver thousands of jobs and shows the strength of our partnership with India as we ensure the UK is the best place in the world to invest and do business.' The UK and India are also bolstering co-operation on tackling corruption, fraud, organised crime and illegal migration, by sharing criminal records and other intelligence. The deal has not given the UK as much access as it would have liked to India's financial and legal services industries. The agreement promises some benefits for the UK's financial services, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves understood to have pushed on behalf of the sector in discussions with her Indian counterpart. But more wide-ranging access was not agreed, and talks continue on a bilateral investment treaty aimed at protecting British investments in India and vice versa. The two nations also continue to discuss UK plans for a tax on high-carbon industries, which India believes could hit its imports unfairly. Negotiations on the deal began when Boris Johnson was prime minister in 2022, and were concluded in May this year. Labour sought to portray closing the deal, as well as trade agreements with the US and the EU, as evidence of the Government's pragmatism and global outlook. But shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said it had only been made possible 'because of Brexit delivered by the Conservatives'. He added: 'Any trade deal that can successfully cut regulation which stops Britain's makers from creating new jobs and wealth will be a step in the right direction. 'But the irony should not be lost on anyone that any gains from this trade deal will be blown out of the water by (Deputy Prime Minister) Angela Rayner's union charter, stifling business with red tape, the jobs tax and, come autumn, Rachel Reeves' inevitable tax hikes that will punish Britain's makers just to reward those who do not contribute.' The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that the signing 'sends a powerful signal that the UK is open for business and remains resolute in its commitment to free and fair trade'. Chief executive Rain Newton-Smith added: 'A trade agreement with India – one of the world's fastest-growing economies – is a springboard for long-term partnership and prosperity. UK firms can take advantage of this new platform to scale, diversify and compete on the global stage.' Elsewhere, Sir Keir is facing calls to raise the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British citizen who has been detained in India since 2017, when the Prime Minister meets Mr Modi. The Scottish Sikh is accused of being a member of the Khalistan Liberation Force, which is banned as a terror group in India. His family say he is being arbitrarily detained, with his brother Gurpreet Singh Johal insisting the matter should be 'high on the agenda when the prime ministers meet'.


The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lloyds Bank profits rise as mortgage lending and savings balances swell
Lloyds Banking Group has unveiled a higher-than-expected profit for the first half of 2025, as it benefited from a jump in lending and savings balances. The group, which incorporates Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, reported a pre-tax profit of £3.5 billion for the first six months of the year – 5% higher than a year ago, Earnings for the first half also came in ahead of the £3.2 billion analysts had expected. Lloyds said total lending to customers increased by £11.9 billion over the period, or 3%, driven by UK mortgages with some 33,000 first-time buyers borrowing on a home. Customer deposits also grew by £11.2 billion, or 2%, following a strong season for ISAs, while more people moved money out of current accounts and into savings. Meanwhile, Lloyds confirmed there had been no change to its motor finance provision, having set aside £1.2 billion to cover potential costs and compensation related to commission arrangements. The group is exposed to the motor finance market through its Black Horse business. Charlie Nunn, the group's chief executive, said: 'We continue to make great progress in our purpose-driven strategy, building differentiated customer outcomes and delivering growth across our business as we build towards our ambitious targets for 2026.'