Caravan firm to be wound down with 180 job losses

Richard Madden
BBC News
Richard Madden/BBC The exterior of Atlas Leisure Homes' headquarters on Wiltshire Road in Hull. The main building is covered in cream cladding and has a large blue and white logo spanning the width of the building. A building on the left of the image is a red brick tower block with six large windows. A car park is in front of the two buildings along with a flag pole and lights.Richard Madden/BBC
Atlas Leisure Homes, which has been trading since 1973, has entered administration with 180 job losses

A caravan manufacturer, which has traded for more than 50 years, has gone into administration with 180 job losses.

Atlas Leisure Homes, based on Wiltshire Road, Hull, blamed a downturn in the market since the Covid-19 pandemic and said it had been unable to secure new investment for the business.

The firm has made static caravans and holiday lodges since 1973 but will now be wound down.

Managing Director Steven McGawn said the situation was "incredibly disappointing".

He said: "We, alongside our competitors, have shared in the market downturn that followed the pandemic in what has been a very challenging few years for everyone in the industry.

"We had generated strong interest in taking the business forward. Ultimately a deal wasn't possible and it is with great regret that we now must place the business into administration."

An exterior image of a second Atlas Leisure Homes site. The large warehouse stands behind a chain link fence and red coloured gates. The building is bathed in sunshine with blue skies and patchy cloud.
The firm, which operated two sites, said a deal to attract new investment had not been possible

In its most recent accounts, covering the year to September 2023, Atlas Leisure Homes recorded a turnover of £68.8m and pre-tax profits of £69,000.

The firm opened a second manufacturing site in 2020 but had undergone two restructuring exercises in the last two years.

Mike Ross, the leader of Hull City Council, told BBC Radio Humberside the authority would do "all it can" to support the workers facing redundancy.

"This is very concerning news and my thoughts are with those affected by the closure," he said.

FRP Advisory has been appointed as administrators and asked for expressions of interest in the business and its assets.

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