Steel firm goes into administration with dozens of jobs lost

A steel firm has closed with the loss of dozens of jobs after going into administration.

Atlantic Steel Processing, based on the dockside in Birkenhead, called in administrators from FRP Advisory after suffering a fall in sales and after an attempt to sell the company fell through. The business has now closed and most of its 41 staff have now lost their jobs.

The 23-year-old business supplied steel products across the UK and Ireland. It specialised in steel decoiling, taking rolled steel and uncoiling it to press it into flat sheets so it could be used in industry.

The company called itself the only steel processor of its kind inside a port with direct access to a quay, and boasted “the world’s widest decoiling line” at its base in Vittoria Dock.

Richard Goodall and Martyn Rickels, of specialist business advisory firm FRP Advisory, were appointed as joint administrators on May 3.

They said: “The company faced challenging trading conditions primarily due to a reduction in demand which resulted in cash flow difficulties and impacted its ability to operate.”

"After an accelerated M&A process yielded no transacting partners for a going concern sale, the Company ceased trading and was placed into administration as part of an orderly wind down."

FRP said most employees were made redundant soon after administration “with a small number retained temporarily to assist the joint administrators with the wind-down process”. The remaining assets of the business are being sold by property agency Sanderson Weatherall.

Richard Goodall, director at FRP, said: “Unfortunately, mounting external pressures, most notably a reduction in demand and movements in commodity prices, resulted in the business being unable to meet its financial obligations. Regrettably, this meant the necessary closure of the business.

“We are now supporting the employees affected to file claims with the Redundancy Payments Services and would encourage any parties with an interest in acquiring the assets to make contact with us as soon as possible.”

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