A MANAGEMENT buy-out has saved a Gainsborough firm which went from a £1m annual turnover to the brink of closure because of the recession.

And 11 jobs at the 50-year-old sheet metal working and steel fabrication specialists have been secured – after three months of uncertainty sparked by falling orders.

Former director John Leach is the new owner of the Bland, Burgess & Hethershaw Ltd operation in Bridge Street after a deal was brokered by business rescue specialists.

Negotiations were confidential – but a recovery and restructuring team from Begbies Traynor ended three months of administration by striking the deal with Mr Leach's BBH Prometals Ltd.

It ended a process started in April following five decades of successful trading in the town.

Bland, Burgess & Hethershaw, who also offer a specialist welding service, had a very wide customer base.

It historically provided specialist services to the engineering industry, milling and grain merchants and packaging machinery manufacturers.

And the £1m turnover came from expertise working with a variety of metals in the manufacture and installation of products including hoppers, conveyors, access platforms and stairways.

The company's reputation also extended to light and medium fabrications and structural steelwork. Last year profits dropped so rapidly that the firm hit serious financial problems.

And the effects of the recession were compounded by poor trading conditions last winter created by adverse weather.

Efforts to reduce overheads came to no avail and in April this year the company was placed in administration – with David Horner and Rob Sadler of Begbies Traynor's Doncaster office appointed as joint administrators.

They ran it for three months before the rescue package was sealed with advice from local legal team Andrew Best and Ryan Morgan of HSR Law in Gainsborough.

Mike Jenkins, manager at Begbies Traynor's Doncaster office who dealt with the sale, explained how the deal came about.

"The manufacturing and sheet fabrications industries were the first to feel the impact of the recession and despite the best efforts of the management, Bland Burgess & Hethershaw Ltd proved unable to weather the downturn in trade," Mr Jenkins said.

"But we were confident that this well-established business had a future and, therefore, continued to trade it while we sought a buyer.

"With his vast knowledge of the business, having spent almost 20 years working first as general manager and latterly as director, we believe Mr Leach is the right person to take the business forward."

And Mr Leach said: "Having invested so many years here in the business, it is fantastic that we have been able to work with Begbies Traynor to preserve it along with the jobs of the majority of the loyal workforce.

"Without their skills and experience, there would have been no business to secure.

"And it is a mark of their reliability that the vast majority of our existing customers have entrusted us with their work and their support.

"So I would like to thank them all for their confidence in us and for their continued support.

"We are confident that the new company will be able to trade through the current tough market conditions."

Andrew Best of HSR Law said: "It was satisfying to apply our expertise to the restructure and rescue of a well known, viable local business."