A well known Medical Gas Suppliers company has ceased trading after plunging into administration after 41 years.
Blair Milne and James Fennessey, partners with Azets, have been appointed joint administrators of medicinal gas pipeline installation and servicing specialist, Hospital Pipeline Installations Limited (HPI).
Founded over 40 years ago in 1984, and headquartered on Duke Street in Paisley, Renfrewshire, with an additional office in Rochdale, England, HPI was a leading designer and installer of medical, dental, laboratory and industrial gas pipelines.
The business also provided repair and maintenance services and had built a substantial client base across the construction, dental and medical sectors, including several NHS Health Boards.
‘Cash flow problems’
Sadly, the company plunged into administration due to a ‘marked downturn’ in trade, rising operating costs, and low-margin contracts – all of which contributed to ‘recent trading losses and unsustainable cash flow problems‘.
Despite the best efforts of the directors to return the company to profitability, the tough decision was made to place the business into administration to protect the interests of creditors.
Due to this, HPI, which at its peak had a turnover of approximately £3m and employed 25 staff, has ceased trading.
On top of that, 22 employees have been made redundant, with three being retained by the joint administrators to assist with the administration process and with safeguarding the Company’s assets.
The administrators will provide as much assistance as possible to those staff affected by redundancy, including liaising with the Redundancy Payments Office and employment support organisations such as PACE.
Blair Milne, joint administrator, said: “HPI was a highly regarded specialist in the field of medical gas pipeline installation and maintenance, providing an essential service to the medical sector, including hospitals and dental practices across the UK.
“The business was suffering from a number of operational and financial challenges and was coming under mounting creditor pressure.
“The Directors sought professional advice on their options and ultimately concluded that the Company should be placed into administration.
“We will now focus on assisting the employees with their claims for redundancy and other entitlements and on marketing the Company’s assets for sale.
“The joint administrators would encourage interested parties to contact the Glasgow office of Azets as soon as possible.”
