A company targeted by cyber criminals and a historic joinery and furniture firm fell foul of the pressures that have caused a growing number of firms to collapse, and are the focus of Brian Donnelly’s look back on last month’s business.
A garden furniture and pet store and a furniture maker dating from 1863 are among the businesses added to the rising list of insolvencies in Scotland.
The Scottish garden furniture and pet store was sold out of administration, while liquidators of the joinery and furniture company were still looking for a buyer after it collapsed as more businesses face increasing pressures.
The news comes as new quarterly figures showed corporate insolvencies in Scotland increased 27% to 375.
I wrote that the garden centre had revenues of £12 million and had historically operated profitably before a dramatic turn of misfortune pushed it into administration.
Administrators BDO said that the M8 Group Limited, based in Livingston and parent company for ecommerce retailers Greenfingers and PetPlanet, selling garden furniture and pet products, was hit by cyber attack last year.
Garden equipment store placed into administration. (Image: Getty Images)
It had also seen a decrease in sales following an earlier boost from the coronavirus pandemic.
James Stephen, joint administrator, said: “Under the insurance policy, specialists were engaged to try to rebuild and secure the data but this was only partially successful.
“The directors declined to pay the large ransom demands.”
I reported that most of the £500,000 insurance claim was received in 2025 and “customer data and history which was lost as a result of the attack made restoring revenue difficult”.
A pre-pack sale process was held with two potential purchasers identified. The intellectual property and brands were sold for £55,000 to Skye Portfolio Limited, an entity under the control of Richard Scott Torrens, who was a director and shareholder of M8.
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The Business Briefing broke the news that liquidators were appointed to the historic firm operator 163 years.
Higher costs and lower levels of housebuilding activity were cited in the collapse of the Alexander Oastler Ltd.
Trading as Oastler Ltd, the company had a range of joinery services for both residential and commercial customers, including renovations and refurbishments, and the design, manufacture and installation of bespoke furniture, windows and doors.
James Dewar and Alistair McAlinden from Interpath were appointed joint provisional liquidators.
I told how the liquidators said: “In common with a number of other companies operating across the building and construction supply chain, the company had experienced challenging trading conditions in recent years, exacerbated by rising input costs and lower levels of housebuilding activity.
“In response, the director of the business took various steps to address trading performance but was ultimately unable to turnaround the company’s financial position. As a result, he was left with no option but to place the company into liquidation.
“The company has now ceased to trade and regrettably, all of the company’s 23 employees have been made redundant. The joint provisional liquidators will be providing all available support to them as a matter of priority, including supporting employees with claims for monies owed to the Redundancy Payments Service.”
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Mr McAlinden, joint provisional liquidator and head of Interpath in Scotland, said: “Originally established in 1863, the Oastler business has a long and storied heritage of providing specialist joinery and bespoke carpentry to homes and commercial projects primarily across eastern Scotland.
“Should anyone have an interest in the business or assets, please contact the joint provisional liquidators’ team as a matter of urgency.”
I also wrote that a Scottish plumbing engineer collapsed into liquidation, again with all jobs lost.
In this case, the liquidator said the company which operated across the north of Scotland “faced unsustainable cash flow pressures”.
All 10 jobs were lost at Centurion Plumbing Services (Scotland) Ltd which had bases in Muir of Ord and Elgin.
The liquidator said its focus would be on redundancy assistance.
(Image: Newsquest)
This article appeared in Business HQ Monthly
Richard Bathgate, restructuring partner and licensed insolvency practitioner at Johnston Carmichael, has been appointed interim liquidator.
Mr Bathgate said: “Our immediate priority is to assist former employees in processing their claims through the Redundancy Payments Service. We are committed to helping them access the statutory entitlements and priority payments they are owed as quickly as possible.
“The company faced unsustainable cash flow pressures that ultimately made continued trading impossible. We are now in the process of realising the company’s remaining assets and investigating its financial affairs.”
Emma Widdowson, chair of trade association R3 in Scotland and legal director at Addleshaw Goddard, said of the wider figures: “The continuing rise in corporate insolvencies in Scotland in the final quarter of the financial year suggests that many businesses have reached a tipping point after a prolonged period of financial pressure.
“Persistently high operating costs, including energy, staffing and borrowing, continue to weigh on margins, while subdued consumer demand has limited opportunities to rebuild financial resilience.”
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