A WINDOWS and doors firm in North Ayrshire has announced its closure after nearly 90 years in business, as more than 80 jobs have been lost.
Andrew Wright Windows Ltd and Andrew Wright Glass Ltd, headquartered in Irvine and established in 1937, have announced that it has entered into liquidation.
A total of 83 employees have been made redundant, 65 who worked at Andrew Wright Windows Limited and 18 at Andrew Wright Glass Limited.
The firm provided windows and doors for social housing, local authorities, domestic and commercial construction, and said it had seen a “significant” slowdown in the construction industry in 2023/24, which in turn had a detrimental impact on its sales.
Andrew Wright Windows said it had seen its turnover decline by approximately 35% due to the slowdown in sales, while Andrew Wright Glass saw a reduction of 60%.
Mark Harper and Paul Dounis from Opus Restructuring & Insolvency were appointed joint provisional liquidators at the firm on Wednesday.
They said both companies had experienced “significant cashflow challenges” among other factors such as contract tendering, rising cost of raw materials and increasing staff costs which led to liquidators being appointed.
Despite “exhaustive efforts”, the directors were said to be left with “no option” but to cease trading.
Mark Bradford and James Fraser, the company’s directors, said: “This is a profoundly sad moment for all at Andrew Wright.
“Over two years, we have done everything we could to turn the business around, but the challenges have proved insurmountable.
“We are truly sorry for the impact the closure will have on our employees, customers, and the wider community.
“We will work now with Opus to support our employees and stakeholders through the transition.”
Harper, partner of Opus Restructuring & Insolvency and joint provisional liquidator, said the directors “fought hard” to save the two long-standing businesses.
He said: “The collapse of Andrew Wright Windows Limited and Andrew Wright Glass Limited is another indicator of the challenges and economic headwinds currently facing the Scottish construction sector.
“The directors fought hard to save these long-standing businesses, but the construction industry has experienced several challenges over recent years, and this impacts heavily throughout the supply chain, putting businesses under increased pressure.
“Our priority is to assist those members of staff who have been made redundant, providing them with the information and support they need to claim their statutory entitlements from the Redundancy Payments Office, as well as to support the owners, for whom this is also an extremely difficult time.”
