Bradford textile business Harrison Gardner enters administration
Posted by The Editor
A Bradford textile business with a 125-year history has ceased trading and all 26 employees have been made redundant after entering administration.
Harrison Gardner Dyers & Winders, which provided specialist commission dyeing services to the carpet and wool knitting sectors across the UK and Europe, entered administration on 24 September.
Julian Pitts (pictured) and Richard Kenworthy of BTG were appointed as joint administrators after the business faced escalating operating costs and reduced demand across the wool and textile industries.
The joint administrators are now seeking offers for the company’s assets. While a sale of the assets is anticipated, they will also consider offers for the business as a whole.
The fourth-generation family-run company, based on Royds Hall Lane, had been a longstanding part of the Yorkshire textile industry supply chain, with customers including Newhey Carpets, Axminster manufacturer Carpets of Kidderminster and craft kits producer WM Briggs.
Julian Pitts, joint administrator and BTG’s Leeds-based national managing partner for restructuring, said: “Sadly, in the face of increasingly challenging trading conditions, with rising energy, labour, raw material and other operating costs placing significant pressure on the business, the directors were left with no choice but to place the company into administration.
“Unfortunately, after evaluating the situation and with no viable route to operating the business going forward, there was no alternative to the closure of the business.
“The recent closure of yarn producer West Yorkshire Spinners, a longstanding client of Harrison Gardner and a major player in the British textile sector, was a significant factor in the failure of the business, and further highlights the challenges facing the wool and textile manufacturing industries, both here in the UK and in Europe.”
He added: “We are providing specialist HR and redundancy support to the former Harrison Gardner employees to ensure they have access to all available resources and entitlements, and will continue to do so during this difficult period.”
Founded in 1901, Harrison Gardner had become a specialist in commission dyeing, serving manufacturers and other businesses across the carpet and wool knitting sectors in the UK and Europe.
A spokesperson for Harrison Gardner said: “After 125 years and four generations of family ownership, this is an incredibly difficult day for everyone connected with Harrison Gardner.
“We have worked tirelessly to navigate the increasingly challenging conditions facing the UK and European textile industries. However, escalating costs and reduced demand have created pressures that, ultimately, have become impossible for the business to overcome.
“It is particularly sad that a business which has survived two World Wars, significant economic downturns and decades of change in the textile industry reaches this point in its 125th year.
“We are immensely proud of the contribution Harrison Gardner has made to the Yorkshire textile industry over four generations, supporting customers and partners across the UK and Europe. Our thoughts are with our employees, customers, suppliers and all those who have supported the business throughout its long history.”
