70 jobs lost in Coppull as leisure firm fails (From Chorley Citizen)

70 jobs lost in Coppull as leisure firm fails

9:30am Wednesday 19th October 2011 in Coppull By Chris Gee, Reporter

The biggest employer in Coppull, caravan retailer Discover Leisure, has collapsed with the loss of 240 jobs across the country.

70 shocked workers were handed redundancy notices at the Chapel Lane site on Monday after being informed of the company’s plight last Friday.

Sites in York, Newbald, Delamere, Darlington and Birtley are also affected.

KPMG have been appointed administrators to the company.

They have made 240 of 260 staff redundant at the five sites, saying a failure to secure investment forced the caravan and motorhome retailer into administration.

A depressed market for big ticket items was also blamed.

Mark Firmin, KPMG's northern head of restructuring, said: “Discover has faced a difficult market over an extended period of time, with persistently depressed consumer demand for high value discretionary items in particular.”

Discover reported a pre-tax loss of £1.5m for the year to August 31.

The remaining staff will now work with administrators to try and rescue some or all of the business.

The site in Coppull was formerly known as Dave Barron’s Great Outdoors.

It was purchased in 2007 by Discover for £20 million.

The company has ceased trading but it is understood around six staff at the Coppull site have been retained while the administrators assess the situation.

Councillor Ken Ball, who represent the area, said it was ‘a sad day for Coppull’.

He added: “They are undoubtedly the biggest employer in the village but I have presumed they were struggling for some time.

“Losing these jobs will have effects for other small businesses in the village, people working here means they spend money here and that will be lost.”

The sudden closure also gives uncertainty to many caravan owners and recent buyers with warranties.

A spokesman from the National Caravan Council advised worried customers to contact the company directly and confirmed that Discover had pulled their stand from the NCC Motorhome and Caravan Show.

A statement on Discover Leisure’s website read: “We have a dedicated help line on 0845 617 1490.

"However, we are experiencing high call volumes so please be patient.”