Assets and activities of inspection, examination and engineering services firm IMES have been bought out of administration by Seanamic Group.
Administrators from KPMG were appointed to IMES on 10 August. The company, which had a turnover of around £5 million, was cash generative in 2014, before it began to experience cash flow challenges in 2015, due to the ongoing oil price decline.
This resulted in a fall in client orders, as operators in the oil and gas sector began to cut costs and actively target reductions in both capital and operating expenditure, says KPMG.
Continuing cash flow pressures led to the directors attempting to secure new investment into the company. When this could not be obtained, the directors recently marketed the company for sale. Following this process a preferred bidder was identified and a period of exclusivity granted, says KPMG.
Immediately following the appointment, the trading business and certain assets of IMES were acquired by Seanamic Group.
All 49 of the company’s employees were transferred as part of the transaction, including 23 and the remainder in Rosyth (6), Sheffield (7), Portsmouth (6) and Plymouth (7).
Blair Nimmo, Joint Administrator and UK Head of Restructuring for KPMG, said: “In these difficult times for the oil and gas sector in particular, we are pleased to have concluded the sale to Seanamic Group, which will safeguard the jobs of the company’s employees, preserve customer service and provide the best available outcome for all stakeholders of IMES. We wish the purchaser every success in taking the business forward.
“The administration of IMES is another example of the current challenges in the oil and gas sector whilst also demonstrating that there is appetite for investment in stressed and distressed businesses in the sector.”
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