Williams fasteners closes doors

[handypandy]

He'd left when I started but I know who you mean. he did go to work for Tedar Tinkers. Roy H............? cant remember 2nd name but i'm sure it begins with H.

 

could have been Higgins.

 

Spot on....Thanks!

[Justin Smith]

Lucky her and her fellow director have managed to hold on to£640,000 in benefits and dividends, and even luckier that their spouses made £68000 as consultants(according to the Star) I wish I could be as lucky.What a world.Perhaps the directors could award £10000 each to the 50 workers who have lost their jobs.?

 

The Star article makes very interesting reading :

 

Sue Battersby and Anthony Searles, directors at Williams Fasteners, shared a total of £470,000 in pay, £170,000 in benefits and £36,000 in dividends, while their spouses received a total of £68,000 as consultants to the business. In the same period, the firm made a loss of £241,339 and had a £689,000 pension deficit, while staff had not had a pay rise ‘for a number of years’. The firm had not made a profit for five years, according to the accounts.

 

How can a business go bust because it lost £241K when the directors took £744K out of it in the same year ? Even the pension deficit doesn`t look that big compared to how much was taken out by the directors. Perhaps Mrs Battersby or Mr Searles could come on here and explain ?

[ECCOnoob]

The Star article makes very interesting reading :

 

Sue Battersby and Anthony Searles, directors at Williams Fasteners, shared a total of £470,000 in pay, £170,000 in benefits and £36,000 in dividends, while their spouses received a total of £68,000 as consultants to the business. In the same period, the firm made a loss of £241,339 and had a £689,000 pension deficit, while staff had not had a pay rise ‘for a number of years’. The firm had not made a profit for five years, according to the accounts.

 

How can a business go bust because it lost £241K when the directors took £744K out of it in the same year ? Even the pension deficit doesn`t look that big compared to how much was taken out by the directors. Perhaps Mrs Battersby or Mr Searles could come on here and explain ?

 

Do you have a link this story? Every time I try to read it on thier website it does not connect to the page. Its just disappeared.

 

Urgent retraction perhaps??

[Justin Smith]

Do you have a link this story? Every time I try to read it on thier website it does not connect to the page. Its just disappeared.

 

Urgent retraction perhaps??

 

You have to use the "Cached" button (the little green inverted triangle) on Google to see it. It isn`t the first time I`ve noticed news stories found by Google on the Star website have disappeared.

[999tigger]

 

Worth reading!!!

 

Wonder if the liquidator or administrator will investigate them for wrongful or fraudulent trading.

[ECCOnoob]

Thanks I will have a look - Didn't know that was possible.

 

Im not defending the Directors for whatever they have or have not done - but if The Star website is hiding away the story by using cache that screams alarm bells to me.

 

They are not exactly famed for their journalistic intergrity but even a basic newspaper operation publishing a story and making it suddenly disappear all seems too fishy.

 

Failure to fact check? Failure to verify the source? Failure to actually bother to research.

 

hmmmm something doesnt seem right about their article.

[999tigger]

Thanks I will have a look - Didn't know that was possible.

 

Im not defending the Directors for whatever they have or have not done - but if The Star website is hiding away the story by using cache that screams alarm bells to me.

 

They are not exactly famed for their journalistic intergrity but even a basic newspaper operation publishing a story and making it suddenly disappear all seems too fishy.

 

Failure to fact check? Failure to verify the source? Failure to actually bother to research.

 

hmmmm something doesnt seem right about their article.

 

If something has gone on, then it wont take the official receiver long to find it.

[Justin Smith]

Thanks I will have a look - Didn't know that was possible.

 

Im not defending the Directors for whatever they have or have not done - but if The Star website is hiding away the story by using cache that screams alarm bells to me.

 

They are not exactly famed for their journalistic intergrity but even a basic newspaper operation publishing a story and making it suddenly disappear all seems too fishy.

 

Failure to fact check? Failure to verify the source? Failure to actually bother to research.

 

hmmmm something doesnt seem right about their article.

 

I wouldn`t take it as read that The Star are retrating anything. I`ve had it in the past that stories that have been found by Google have moved when you try to find them on The Star`s website.

[1978]

It certainly is curious that if you go to the Star's website and search for Wiliams Fasteners the most recent results are 3 days ago and October 11th. Click on the report for the 11th and it leads to the story as printed that day. Click on the report about the directors 3 days ago and it takes you to today's front page.

 

An issue with technology on the website, or a legal issue with the accuracy of the published story? It could be either, neither, or both. However, corporate finance is a minefield to follow for anyone, let alone a hard pressed journalist rushing to make the next edition. Whilst there will be a degree of truth in the report I'd suspect there could well have been emotive slanting that might not stand up to closer legal scrutiny.

 

In due course the liquidator will make a report which may be more factually accurate, but that could take some time. Pension deficits are a major issue for very many companies, especially when they need to slim down (and some even when they're doing well). Liablities to large numbers of former employees can take massive chunks of profits which might be used for reinvestment in the business.

 

In time we'll learn how much the directors took out, for what, and over how long a period. That isn't/wasn't crystal clear in the Star.

[Justin Smith]

As an (ex) William`s account customer we`ve just had a letter through from Northern Power Tools saying :

 

All trade activities will now be conducted as William`s Fasteners a division of Northern Powertools. All orders should be made to Northern Power Tools Ltd T/A William`s Fasteners.

 

Interestingly the address is still the same as William`s old one, namely Unit 4A Tinsley Industrial Estate. That said I`ve just been looking through my past William`s invoices and a few months ago the address changed to Unit 10 Tinsley Ind Est, was that significant ?

 

I have to say NPT been a bit slow off the mark with that one, I`d have thought many William`s customers would already have found alternative suppliers. I tried phoning William`s over a week ago and there was no answer, so straight away I started researching alternatives, I think we`ll be using Sheffield Bolt & Nut, though, ironically, they`re actually based in Rotherham !

Edited October 25, 2016 by Justin Smith