'Panic' as kitchen firm enters administration

Dean Bridgen has set up a new kitchen showroom with his wife

A man setting up a kitchen showroom using products from a company that has gone into administration said the situation had been handled "terribly" because of a "lack of communication".

One-hundred-and-five people have been made redundant at Waterline Limited, one of the UK's largest independent wholesale distributors of kitchens and bathrooms, based in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.

Administrator Alex Cadwallader said the directors had been "forward thinking... proactive and took all the correct steps".

But kitchen fitter Dean Bridgen said he was left in "panic" after spending around £20,000 on a new showroom in Redruth, Cornwall - using products purchased through Waterline.

The Duchy Kitchens showroom in Cornwall was fitted out with products purchased through Waterline

He said he had a call from his rep four days before opening Duchy Kitchens saying there were "difficulties" and it was about to get "turbulent".

"That was about the only news we got for weeks.

"Everyday you are hoping that the phone rings and it is new information or they've been saved."

He had already placed two customer orders with the company, although not paid, and is sourcing stock through other businesses.

"The first thing we did was panic," he said.

"We just didn't have any communication."

Mr Bridgen said his Waterline rep had been "absolutely fantastic" but did not have any information.

The company had over £7m worth of stock split over three warehouses, according to its website

The company was founded in 1947 and had more than 5,000 customers, according to its website.

Mr Cadwallader, from the firm Leonard Curtis, was one of two administrators appointed on 9 October, after which orders have not been fulfilled.

He said the business had seen increased orders during the Covid pandemic, but the number had then decreased.

This was one of a number of pressures including increased interest rates, the cost-of-living crisis and higher national insurance costs, he added.

He said the company had been relying on support from its shareholders which became "no longer viable" and a planned sale fell through.

Mr Cadwallader said, based on current information, he did "anticipate there will be a material return" to all groups of creditors, including staff and suppliers.

He said directors had taken appropriate advice and followed it, but when businesses were struggling it was often not possible to alert clients.

"Openly telling all your customers about the financial position of the business generally leads to it falling away relatively quickly, so it would not be a route directors would be advised to take."

"[Directors] were forward thinking, they were proactive and took all the correct steps you would expect them to," he said.

Around 15 staff members were still at work to help implement a "wind down plan", where stock owned by suppliers is being returned.