UK kitchen company plunges into administration – all jobs lost

A long-established Scottish kitchen and appliance supplier and installer has collapsed into administration, bringing an end to more than 33 years of trading and resulting in the loss of all 18 jobs. The company supplied, distributed, and installed gas and electrical kitchen appliances across Scotland. Merchant City Distributors Limited, based in East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, has ceased operations and appointed administrators on April 7, according to the London Gazette, the UK’s official public record.

The firm operated from the Kelvin Industrial Estate and was founded back in March 1993. The company specialised in supplying and installing built-in and freestanding kitchen appliances to the trade, including kitchen studios, kitchen furniture manufacturers and sectors of the housebuilding industry across Scotland.

MCD distributed many of the country’s leading appliance brands, including Bosch, Siemens, Neff, Hotpoint, Electrolux, and AEG.

James Stephen and Ben Peterson of BDO were appointed as joint administrators.

In a statement, the administrators said: “Following detrimental supply chain issues, the directors concluded there was no viable future for the business and ceased to trade.

“Consequently, they took the difficult decision to appoint the joint administrators, with 18 employees subsequently being made redundant.”

James Stephen of BDO told The Herald: “The challenging business environment impacted the company’s ability to trade and the Directors unfortunately saw administration as the only option.

“Our focus now is on processing employee claims and realising the company assets for the benefit of creditors.”

Under UK insolvency rules, administration is designed to protect a company from immediate legal action while administrators assess options for restructuring or asset realisation.

As soon as reasonably practicable and before the end of 8 weeks after the company enters administration, the administrator must make a statement setting out proposals for achieving the purpose of the administration or explaining why they cannot be achieved. The proposals may include a voluntary arrangement or a compromise or arrangement with creditors or members.