Scottish Coal in provisional liquidation
Nearly 600 workers made redundant following collapse of Scotland’s biggest coal mining company
SCOTTISH Coal, the main trading subsidiary of Scottish Resources Group, have been placed in provisional liquidation with the loss of almost 600 jobs.
On Friday 19 April, Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of KPMG were appointed as joint provisional liquidators by the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Castlebridge Plant Ltd (CPL), a subsidiary of Scottish Coal, have been placed in administration.
Scottish Coal operate six opencast coal mines in Scotland, located in East Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and Fife. Together with CPL, the business employs a total of 732 people.
Scottish Coal have been suffering from a combination of falling coal prices, rising operational costs and a number of sites exhausting their reserves, which has contributed to trading losses and significant cash flow pressures.
Despite significant efforts in recent months, the company has been unable to secure the level of investment required to allow the business to continue.
Last month 450 staff were put on notice of redundancy. However, immediately following last Friday’s insolvency appointment, 590 employees were made redundant and all operations ceased with immediate effect.
The remaining 142 employees have been retained to assist in securing the sites while the joint provisional liquidators explore how best to maximize returns from the assets of the business, principally the sites, plant and stocks.
Blair Nimmo, joint provisional liquidator and head of restructuring at KPMG in Scotland, said: ‘In light of Scottish Coal’s poor trading and financial position, we have had to cease trading with immediate effect.
‘It is extremely regrettable that we have had to make so many redundancies but we have been left with no other option.
‘We will be looking to secure the sale of certain sites as well as the company’s key assets in the coming weeks. It is still possible that mining operations will continue and offer future employment prospects for at least some of the people who have lost their jobs today.’
Footnote: On Monday 29 April, Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of KPMG were appointed as joint interim liquidators of Scottish Coal by the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The company is now in liquidation.
