Gateshead business Zentia had been celebrating centenary last year
A ceiling specialist from the North-east which was celebrating its 100th anniversary last year has collapsed into administration with the loss of 170 jobs.
Gateshead firm Zentia can trace its history back to 1925 and specialised in manufacturing ceiling systems for a host of sectors including education, health, retail and commercial.
But the firm, which in its last set of results sank to a £2.6m pre-tax loss in 2024, called in administrators from Interpath yesterday.
In an update on its website, Zentia said: “The business has faced significant headwinds over recent months, and, despite our very best efforts, we were unable to find a solution which would allow us to remain trading.
“We’d like to thank our customers, suppliers, and most of all, our team of incredible people who worked so hard to make the business what it was. This is not the outcome any of us wanted.”
Interpath said Zentia and sister firm Zentia Profiles, which is also in administration, “had experienced challenging trading conditions recently, including the adverse impact of high energy prices on production costs, coupled with sales lower than forecast”.
The firm’s major shareholder pumped in £6.5m last year with the directors also looking to save the business by selling it.
“However, with no solvent outcomes available, the directors took the difficult decision to place the company into administration,” Interpath added.
In its 2024 accounts, which were signed off last June, Zentia said revenue fell 12% to £48m “primarily due to lower sales volumes as a result of continued economic challenges in the construction sector.
“In addition, strong downward pressure on pricing and high production costs as the ramp up of new machinery installed during the significant capital investment program impacted both sales and margins”.
As a result, the firm saw the pre-tax profit of £2.7m in 2023 turned into a £2.6m loss a year later.
And in the accounts, the firm warned: “The directors consider that improvement is necessary in both sales and production cost in order to return the business to the levels of profitability achieved in previous years although the uncertain economic climate experienced during the year is expected to continue into 2025 and potentially beyond.”
It said its balance sheet “remains strong” with net assets of just under £44m although year-end cash fell from £570,000 to £113,000.
Zentia Profiles saw turnover in 2024 fall 11% to £6.4m with pre-tax profit tumbling from £256,000 to just £52,000.
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