Mailway directors buy firm after administration shock

New funders will provide £1.7m in working capital for the Bradford-based business after taking the decision to secure the jobs of its 230 full-time employees this week.

Commercial director Steve Whitehouse will remain with the business, but sales director Stewart Clough resigned from his position at the start of the week.

Bramma told Packaging News that the withdrawal of credit had been unexpected and the company “had expected to be able to negotiate a position going forward, but we weren’t able to do that”.

He said that Mailway’s suppliers had been “remarkably understanding” given the circumstances and assured its customers that its would be business as usual.

“We have fully explained and apologised for the situation to our customers, suppliers and stakeholders, and they know that it didn’t occur due to any mismanagement on our part, more that it was related to the current financial climate.”

The company will now focus on stabilising the business and Bramma described 2010 as “a year of consolidation”.

Mailway moved into flow wrapping in August 2009 when it acquired bagging and filling specialist Perpack in nearby Wakefield.

The acquisition followed a period of expansion for Mailway when at the start of July the company entered into a strategic partnership with storage and distribution specialist Lenham Storage in Maidstone and then another partnership with direct mail specialist The Lettershop Group a week later.

Prior to this, in April, the company acquired Benchmark Promotional Support Services in Hillington, Glasgow.

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