Date Published: 25/04/2022
Joint administrators Bob Maxwell and Louise Longley from Begbies Traynor, who were appointed as joint administrators of Elland commercial joinery and shopfitting firm Crossley Webb Contracts (CWC) on 11 April, have sold the business to the Oak Touch, also in Elland, as a going concern, saving the jobs of all 10 employees.
Founded in 2002, CWC specialises in bespoke furniture and specialist joinery, fit-out and refurbishment contracts for a range of well-known clients in the corporate workplace, hospitality, hotel and leisure sectors.
Bob Maxwell of Begbies Traynor said: “It is excellent news that we have secured a buyer for CWC, safeguarding the jobs of the entire team.
“The business ran into financial difficulties as a supplier to the fitness and gyms sector, which itself suffered from severe trading restrictions during successive covid lockdowns.”
CWC’s client list includes Nuffield Health, Virgin Active, Pizza Express, Barclays and Leeds University.
Bob is the managing partner in our Leeds office. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner at Deloitte and Kroll and he has nearly 20 years’ restructuring and recovery experience. Bob qualified as an ACA in 1990 and is a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner. He has led numerous cases, both domestic and international, incorporating turnaround assignments, financial restructuring and insolvencies.
Bob has experience across a broad range of industries including retail, manufacturing, distribution, construction, motor retailing and media. His clients include banks, Asset Based Lenders (ABLs), venture capitalists, pension scheme trustees, corporates and government.
He has undertaken two major secondments to assist UK clearing banks, advising them on developing turnaround strategies for their clients in financial difficulty.
More recently, Bob has been responsible for delivering a project with Clydesdale Bank aimed at tackling its distressed property portfolio. He led a team of 12 staff throughout the UK, working with the Bank staff to manage a portfolio of circa £800m of debt with over 1,000 properties. As part of this project, he formulated strategies to create consensual solutions between the customer and the bank as well as undertaking a significant number of LPA appointments in situations where enforcement action was required.
