North East front firm collapses with zero net cash

A glass and aluminum façade specialist was short on net cash when administrators were appointed six months ago.

Architectural Glass and Aluminum Ltd. (ARGLA), sank in April kept cash in the bank. But he owed a Coronavirus Bounce Back loan, which canceled out his entire cash pot.

In its first report into ARGLA’s collapse, published yesterday (November 4), administrators at RSM Restructuring Advisory revealed £30,000 had sunk into ARGLA’s Metro Bank account.

But the bank was also owed a Coronavirus Bounce Back loan worth £39,500, as part of total debts to Metro worth £433,000.

ARGLA, based in the County Durham village of Murton, collapsed after taking a loss on a large, undisclosed contract and becoming embroiled in a legal dispute with an unnamed main contractor.

The directors’ report also found there was “no prospect of dividends being paid” to the firm’s weaker employees or subcontractors.

The 43 employees who were immediately made redundant as ARGLA went into administration are owed £33,700. An undisclosed number of subcontractors and supply chain partners will face losses of £1.5 million.

HMRC will also miss out on £118,400 and only secured creditors Metro Bank and investment company Faro Capital are likely to make any return on their investment, administrators say.

ARGLA owed Faro a total of £3 million when it collapsed. The report stated that Faro was expected to see something “missing”.

Despite efforts to recover debts and retentions from a number of firms, RSM Restructuring has revealed that ARGLA faces “a number of significant counterclaims” from former clients and customers. These exceed the book value of the debts sought, meaning RSM has given up on its original claims.

Founded in 2019, ARGLA specializes in the design, production and installation of architectural facades and other products mainly for commercial customers. Recently completed projects, announced a month before launch, included the facades of two buildings, DC3 and DC5 (pictured), for GMI Construction Group in Bowburn.

Work in progress included a residential block on Dingwall Road in Croydon and the Colchester Northern Gateway leisure center in Essex.

In 2021, the firm moved its manufacturing operation from Leadgate, near Consett, to Jade Business Park in Murton as part of its expansion strategy, which has seen staff numbers more than double in two years.

In its latest accounts for the 15 months to 30 September 2022, ARGLA reported net assets of £7,410, compared to net liabilities of £940,000 in the previous 12 months to 31 May 2022.