Creative Apparel, a specialist in garment printing and embroidery, has been sold after it went into administration in the wake of trading losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Stockport-based business and all its assets have been sold by joint administrators Rick Harrison and Howard Smith from Interpath Advisory to a new company, Apparel Services Limited.
The deal, announced on Friday (4 March), has saved the jobs of 14 of its staff who have transferred their employment to Apparel Services under TUPE regulations.
The company’s premises in Oakfield Road in Stockport have been sold to a separate new company, Oakfield RD Limited, which is owned by the same third party.
The administrators were appointed after Creative Apparel suffered trading losses in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic “mainly due to production constraints from lockdown closures and subsequent social distancing restrictions”.
In addition, the administrators said that sales to one of the company’s significant customers reduced materially during 2021.
The company had also begun construction of a new manufacturing facility in 2020 and experienced cashflow pressures as a result of increasing construction costs and project delays.
After reviewing funding options, including exploring options for a potential sale, it was concluded on Thursday (3 March) that it was in the best interests of the creditors for the company to be placed into administration.
Founded in Stockport, south of Manchester, in 1988, Creative Apparel specialises in printing and embroidering branded clothing such as hoodies, T-shirts and sweatshirts and workwear, supplying major high-street and online stores in the UK and overseas.
At its height, it employed over 80 people, led by founder and managing director Phil Millar, and was producing around 50,000 items of clothing each week.
Harrison, managing director at Interpath Advisory, said: “We’re pleased to have been able to conclude these transactions which safeguard the future of this innovative Stockport business as well as preserving a number of jobs.”
The joint administrators were advised by Tim Taylor and Barry Davies at Addleshaw Goddard.
