The pre-pack sale of a West Midlands metals recycler and its transport division just before Christmas cost its purchaser £3.6m, the administrator has confirmed.
Enablelink and subsidiary MT Transport (UK) were sold to Global Ardour Recycling on 22 December, saving 39 jobs and judged by FRP Advisory as being in the best interest of creditors, presenting a much better outcome than if they were forced to close down.
MT Transport was incorporated in 2005 and operated as a freight firm primarily servicing Enablelink.
MT’s turnover in the nine months to September 2025 was approximately £1.4m with an EBITDA of £200,000.
Moves were made to diversify the customer base in 2024 to mitigate concentration risk and reliance on one customer, but the group found that reduced global demand for steel and the adverse impact of tariffs meant scope was limited.
FRP said fluctuating demand and significantly high processing costs led to a decline in trading performance and the companies generated losses, which subsequently resulted in cashflow pressures.
An accelerated merger and acquisition strategy was sought but when this proved fruitless a pre-packaged sale with the unconnected business Global Ardour was eventually agreed.
The £3.6m sale price included almost £231,000 for MT Transport and around £3.4m for Enablelink, with £2m of this paying off all assets subject to finance agreements with Lombard and held by Enablelink.
“This transaction will deliver a significantly better outcome for creditors compared to the only feasible alternative of a shut-down insolvency, as it mitigated the significant asset holding and professional costs that would otherwise have been incurred in a shut-down,” FRP said in a report to creditors.
