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FENSA Plants Flag On Everest – Anglian Sees Another Angle
With the demise of Everest 2020 Ltd, FENSA has yet again planted its flag of honour in the messy business, declaring that all Everest customers are covered...
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Everest Plummets From Summit – Again
Everest 2020 Ltd, one of the best-known double-glazing manufacturers and suppliers, has gone bust again. This time, there is very little chance of salvation – the administrators have already made all staff redundant and don’t expect to find a buyer.
Chris Farrington, Cameron Gunn and Lee Manning of ReSolve Advisory Limited were appointed as joint administrators of Everest 2020 Limited (Everest) on 24 April 2024.
Farrington says: “ReSolve administrators have assessed all options available to Everest, including a possible sale to interested parties. Unfortunately, it was not possible to finalise a sale of the business as a going concern and therefore regrettably the administrators had to make the majority of Everest 2020 staff redundant. ReSolve is providing support to those employees as a matter of urgency. The administrators are now in advanced talks with interested parties to explore the possibility of an asset sale that would help secure existing customer contracts and fulfil customer orders. A further announcement will be made in due course.”
Everest previously went out of business in 2020 leaving massive debts. Debts to its finance house were said to be in the region of £45 million. The finance house, Better Capital, ‘bought’ Everest 2020 in a pre-pack administration deal in 2020. Better Capital manages £7 billion of investment and 200 companies, mostly in the tech sectors.
Creditors
ReSolve is currently taking queries from creditors but have made the announcement above about how householders who are waiting for installations will be compensated.
Everest 2020 boasts a FENSA logo on its website. FENSA has been contacted by The Fabricator and The Installer to ask if the company is a paid-up member and if insurance backed guarantees are in place.
A further statement from ReSolve reads: ‘We are currently obtaining information about Everest 2020 Ltd, its business and the extent of any assets and liabilities. We will be populating a FAQ on our website shortly and relevant news for creditors will be added as it becomes available. The administrators' proposals for dealing with the affairs of the company will be issued on or before the 19 June 2024’.
Charges are already held on some of Everest’s assets by previous creditors.
Jobs
Up to 100 directly employed staff will lose their jobs at the Everest fabrication site in Treherbert, Rhondda Cynon Taf which has been in operation for over 50 years. The company also has offices in Llantrisant and Hertfordshire. It also boasts a nationwide network of ‘consultants’ and installers. These will be on contract but still represent hundreds or workers who will take a devastating blow to their incomes.
In October 2023, Everest purchased the brand, order book and assets of Evolution from the defunct UKWDG. Evolution is a manufacturer of timber alternative windows and doors. The firm is based in Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. The company may have a re-sale value but with the downturn in the economy, Resolve’s prospects of finding a buyer are not positive.
UKWDG (UK Windows and Doors Group) went into administration on 2 October 2023. Duraflex, its profile extrusion arm, went out of business earlier that year. The demises saw hundreds of employees lose their jobs.
Veka UK
Everest had been supplied with profile by Duraflex. When Duraflex went bust, Veka took on the role. Veka itself has previously been hit by companies it supplies to going out of business to the extent that it had to lay staff off in order to survive – especially during the pandemic. Veka also won the contract to supply the UK Window & Doors Group before it went out of business. In 2023, Veka increased (restored employees) on the back of the UKWDG and Everest contract gains. Those jobs are now likely to be under threat.
Veka UK is part of a German-family-owned business which has so far been tolerant of its wins and subsequent losses. Observers are predicting that tolerance may now have been stretched to the limit.
Picture – with thanks to Google Maps: The Everest PVC-U and aluminium window and doors fabrication site in the Rhonda was locked up and empty on Tuesday 30 May. All staff at this and other locations were made redundant on Monday 29 April.
Article written by Brian Shillibeer
02nd May 2024