UK parts suppliers have revealed there will be job opportunities ahead suited to workers from collapsed parts giant Unipart Automotive.
Unipart Automotive entered administration yesterday and 1,244 workers at 147 branches were immediately made redundant. 208 workers werer retained to help the administrator KPMG.
Some 350 jobs were saved when the administrators sold 21branches to Andrew Page and 12 to The Parts Alliance.
Martin Gray, chief executive of rival supplier Euro Car Parts, said the news of Unipart Automotive's adminisration was very sad news indeed and his thoughts were with its employees at this difficult time.
"We will go the extra mile to advise and do our best to assist them in securing employment with ourselves, should they wish to explore this as a potential option.
"During the next 12 to 18 months we will be creating 1,500 new positions, so I am confident that the vast majority of affected Unipart ex-employees could be supported by us, should they so desire," he said.
Unipart Automotive's administrators are Mark Orton, Will Wright and Jonny Marston from KPMG.
Headquartered in Solihull, the company operated a total network of 180 branches and distribution hubs trading under the Unipart Automotive, Partco Autoparts, and Express Factors brands.
Joint administrator Mark Orton at KPMG said: “Despite intensive efforts over recent weeks, a sale of the whole Unipart Automotive business could not be reached, and a buyer could only be found for 33 of the sites on a going concern basis.
"Unfortunately, the business had been experiencing financial stress for a number of years, so the level of cash and further operational restructuring required to rescue a more substantial part of the business posed too much risk for most interested parties.
“Our team of employment specialists will be supporting all staff on completing redundancy forms and putting them in touch with job seeker services. We will now be reviewing what options are available for the remainder of the business, such as selling leasehold interests.”
The company also directly supports over 700 independent, owner-operated garages through its Unipart Car Care Centre programme, in addition to having 19 franchisees. These companies fall outside of the administration and will continue to operate as normal.
As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM's multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.
frank - 26/07/2014 21:40
how much other business is Unipart Automotive going to take down with then, there will be more out of work again after the dust settles. it going to be a big OMG