Last updated at 22:08, Thursday, 15 November 2012

A FURNESS firm has gone into liquidation after running up debts of almost £400,000.

F.B.M (Building Supplies) Ltd has been put into voluntary liquidation after owner, Michael Mackenzie, contacted Bennett Verby – an insolvency firm.

The company, which was based in Cemetery Hill, Dalton, had debts of £372,798.

Her Majesty’s Customs and Revenue was the firm’s largest creditor.

F.B.M owed HMRC a total of £130,567 in unpaid taxes stretching back to the 2007/08 financial year, to date.

Mr Mackenzie, who is listed as the sole director of the firm, set up F.B.M in 1984 and by 1990 turnover had reached £2.5m per year.

However, by 1996 turnover had fallen to £1m due to an increasing number of builders’ merchants setting up across South Cumbria – and a decade later turnover had fallen to £300,000.

Despite the turnover of the company rising to £415,831 the company was put into liquidation earlier this month.

The firm operated as a builders’ merchant and had debts to tool companies and aggregates suppliers across the country.

Among the company’s other creditors were Barclays Bank, listed as being owed £64,951.70, and Barrow Borough Counci, which was owed £1,382.

On September 4 this year HMRC presented the firm with a winding-up order due to unpaid taxes but after Mr Mackenzie was advised to wind-up the firm he put it into voluntary liquidation.

Jane Cooper, insolvency advisor at Bennett Verby, said following a meeting of creditors at the firm’s offices in Stockport on November 1 the company was placed into voluntary liquidation.

None of the local creditors wished to comment when contacted by the Evening Mail.

Mr Mackenzie, in his director’s statement, attributed the company’s failure to a general downturn in sales due to competition, the economic climate, insufficient funding and bad debts.

The Evening Mail was unable to contact Mr Mackenzie.

First published at 16:20, Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk