By Michael Ribbeck business editor
A PACKAGING firm based in Bristol has gone into administration, putting at least 80 jobs at risk, it emerged yesterday.
CPC Packaging, which is French owned, has its UK headquarters in Knapps Lane on the Fishponds Trading Estate. The firm specialises in making cartoons for food and drink firms, and also has a base in Kings Lynn in Norfolk. It employs about 180 staff in total over the two sites.
Bristol-based accountant Grant Thornton has been appointed as the official receiver and staff at both sites have been sent home while the future of the firm is sorted out. There are also fears that workers will not be paid as a result of the collapse of the firm, and staff are owed at least two weeks wages.
Grant Thornton was officially appointed administrator late on Wednesday evening and talks about the future of the firm were taking place yesterday in Bristol. Managers at CPC were not available for comment, although administrators were onsite at the company's Bristol offices talking to the management team yesterday afternoon.
The news that the company had gone into administration came after staff were sent home from the firm's two sites throughout Monday and Tuesday.
It is still not clear whether the company will be shut down and its assets sold off, or whether the administrators will look to sell the two sites as a going concern. Suppliers have confirmed that they have stopped delivering their goods to the firm once it was made public it had gone into administration.
The business had a total turnover in this country of just under £24 million in 2008, the last year for which it filed full accounts with Company House. It posted combined pre-tax losses of £830,000 for the year. CPC's turnover in Bristol for the same year was £11.4m and it posted a pre-tax loss of £188,000 for the site.
The parent company Groupe CPC, which has offices in France, Germany and Russia, is not affected by the problems facing the UK business.
Steve Ireland, the regional officer for the Unite union, confirmed that all union members had been sent home from work. He said: "Our members are due a fortnight's pay from today, so we will have to see what happens.
"We met with management at the plants earlier this week to discuss the situation. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement. We have also been in talks with the company's bank, which is understood to have withdrawn funding."
Chris Dew, the director and general manager of CPC Packaging UK, is believed to have parted company with the business at the end of July.
Alastair Wardell and Daniel Smith, partners at Grant Thornton, were appointed joint administrators on Wednesday. Mr Wardell said: "The administrators and their team need to quickly ascertain whether there is a possibility that some or all of the business can be sold.
"The Bristol site will continue production in the short term to satisfy customer demands while purchasers for the business are sought. Some 95 of the workforce have been made redundant, primarily at the King's Lynn site."
Source: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk
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