Redundancies as Harrogate charity restructuresAssets to be sold at failed Ripon firm Farmison

Administrators running collapsed Ripon firm Farmison & Co said today it planned to begin the sale of assets.

FRP took charge of the company on Thursday, when it ceased trading and most staff lost their jobs.

Farmison co-founder John Pallagi held talks over the bank holiday with a consortium led by two Yorkshire businessmen about reviving the business.

But there has been no news of a deal since and FRP has now issued a statement clarifying the situation.

The statement outlined the problems that brought down the award-winning company. It said:

“The business recently underwent a fundraising process to secure external investment to support its business plan but did not secure a sufficient level of interest.

“Following a period of significant operational investment, the business has not generated the required level of revenues to sustain its high cost base.

“In recent weeks interest in the business and assets has been explored but a transaction could not be completed, and the directors have therefore placed the company into administration.”

The statement confirmed Farmison had ceased trading, adding:

“Regrettably, the majority of its 75 roles were made redundant. A skeleton staff has been retained to support the joint administrators in fulfilling their duties as they move towards an asset sale, notably the brand, goodwill and intellectual property.”

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Arvindar Jit Singh, partner at FRP and joint administrator of Farmison, said:

“Farmison had made significant investment in recent years in its operations as it aimed to carve out a differentiated brand and offering in the online retail space.

“However, it proved too heavy a burden to sustain without the uplift in sales that it had expected.

“Without a major capital injection, the business could not continue trading and we must now commence an asset sale. We encourage any interested parties to come forward.

“In the meantime, we have a specialist team working with impacted staff to access support through the Redundancy Payments Service.”

Customers and creditors can contact the administrators by emailing farmison@frpadvisory.com.

Hundreds of job losses as Harrogate company goes under

As many as 450 people have lost their jobs after Harrogate telemarketing company Amvoc crashed into administration, leaving employees in shock today. 

Staff received an email at 10pm last night from chief executive Damian Brockway informing them all the company’s offices, in Harrogate, Leeds and Manchester, would close with immediate effect, citing “covid debts” as the cause. 

The email, seen by the Stray Ferret, said: 

“We have appointed administrators with immediate effect who will now be responsible for paying wages this week and all outstanding bonuses.

“I am gutted. Words fail me.

“Unfortunately our covid debts were too high and repayments not high enough. We have been issued with immediate request to pay all outstanding within seven days which is impossible.

“I cannot tell you how upset this makes me.”

The speed of the company’s demise surprised many – it was still advertising for new staff as recently as last week – and staff expressed their shock in social media posts. One said:

“I, as many others will be during this time, am now frantically looking for work. With huge overheads, a small child to support and a mortgage to pay, I am very concerned about the coming weeks.”

Mr Brockway set up Amvoc, the trading name of A Marketing Vocation Ltd, from a small office in Dacre in 2010. It sold telemarketing services, initially in the legal sector, and grew rapidly, moving first to Pateley Bridge and then to large offices at New York Mills near Summerbridge. 

It opened a new head office on Cardale Park in Harrogate in 2015, a facility in Leeds in 2018 and an office in Manchester in 2022.  It also had plans to expand to London.

Amvoc’s clients have included BP, Barclays, Virgin Media, Leeds Beckett University, and both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. 

The company has been approached for comment. 

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Ripon to lose two high street shops

Ripon is to lose two long-established shops, with the closures of Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home.

Closing down sales signs are in the windows of both shops after Edinburgh Woollen Mill group – which owns both brands – filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators.

Staff at Edinburgh Woollen Mill’s store in Market Place East and Ponden Home in Kirkgate were informed of the situation in a letter on Friday.

The notice of intent is designed to give time for the group, which owns other high street names, including Jaeger and Peacocks, to enable insolvency experts to assess the business and advise on future actions.

Photo of the Ponden Home shop in Ripon

The Ponden Home shop in Kirkgate.

While some parts of the giant retail group may be saved, the closing down sale notices were quickly in place at the group’s Ripon stores.

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The notice of intention lodged in the High Court temporarily halts existing or pending creditor action by creating a 10-day period that protects them from the immediate threat of liquidation.

In a statement, Steve Simpson, chief executive of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill group, said the move would “provide a short breathing space to assess options”.

He added:

“Like every retailer, we have found the past seven months extremely difficult.

“This situation has grown worse in recent weeks as we have had to deal with a series of false rumours about our payments and trading, which have impacted our credit insurance.

“As directors we have a duty to the business, our staff, our customers and our creditors to find the very best solution in this brutal environment.”