M-AR buyer starts round of redundancies
The company that rescued offsite contractor Module-AR (M-AR) Limited out of administration is planning to make nearly half the workforce redundant.
The Enquirer revealed yesterday that medical offsite specialist Vanguard Healthcare Solutions had acquired the £30m turnover M-AR business after it fell into administration in late October.
Administrator Begbies Traynor said the move would “safeguard 70 jobs” as Vanguard took on M-AR’s 100,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Hull.
Dean Watson, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “We are pleased to have completed a going concern sale of the business, which safeguards the jobs of a loyal and skilled workforce.”
But M-AR staff were served with redundancy consultation letters just days after the deal completed.
The letter seen by the Enquirer states: “At present the (Hull) site is continuing to lose substantial sums each day which isn’t sustainable.
“While we are optimistic about the long term work load of the site, it is currently expected that there will not be sufficient volume running through Hull for some time to sustain the full current workforce.”
Vanguard is looking at cutting staff at all levels from the board room to the factory floor with 30 roles highlighted at risk.
In a statement Vanguard said: “The organisation confirmed that a review conducted following the acquisition had highlighted a number of roles at risk of redundancy and that a 30-day consultation period had begun with those potentially affected.
“It confirmed that its priority was to work closely with all of the people potentially affected and to support them however possible.”