CHS cuts 200 staff as buyer fails to appear

Receivers acting for CHS Electronics plc have failed to find a buyer for the ailing distributor, resulting in around 200 redundancies.

Receivers acting for CHS Electronics plc have failed to find a buyer for the ailing distributor, resulting in around 200 redundancies.

In a statement, BDO Stoy Hayward said this afternoon that despite lengthy negotiations over the weekend, a buyer had not been found to purchase the operating arm as a going concern.

As a result, around 200 employees located in the company's Toyle, Brentford, Woking, High Wycombe and Banbury have been made redundant.

Senior casualties are understood to include CHS' managing director Garry Boon, commercial director Jan Lawford and marketing and communications director Peter Rigby.

BDO said that around 30 employees are being retained by the company in receivership to continue to support customer enquiries and try to assist in resourcing their requirements elsewhere if required.

It advised resellers to contact the usual CHS customer service line for further information.

According to sources, rival distributor Northamber stepped in to buy the customer base and goodwill of CHS Electronics. BDO refused to comment on this and Northamber was unavailable for comment.

It is also understood that a small number of CHS staff have been offered positions with Northamber with promises to honour their salaries. The remainder of CHS' staff will not be paid for October and have been offered the minimum legal redundancy package, according to sources.

The announcement resulted in ugly scenes at the distributor's Brentford office, with security drafted in to protect staff working for receivers BDO Stoy Hayward.

Meanwhile, rumours are escalating that Westcoast will make a bid for Metrologie and CHS Holdings on Wednesday. Both companies were put up for sale last Friday following CHS Electronics plc's collapse into receivership, after Deutsche Financial Services called in a £17m loan.