Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/10/26/northamber_snaps_up_chs_electronics/

Northamber snaps up CHS Electronics' customers

220 jobs lost as receivers fail to find buyer for business

By Linda Harrison

Posted in On-Prem, 26th October 1999 17:21 GMT

Northamber is buying CHS Electronics Plc, resulting in more than 200 redundancies. Receivers BDO Stoy Hayward have agreed to accept Northamber's offer to buy the customer base of its former rival, according to Peter Rigby, who today lost his job as CHS marketing director. Today's 220 layoffs included such top-level staff as regional director Gary Boon. However, part of the purchase agreement stipulates that the distributor will employ as many people from CHS as it has vacancies for. Rigby said a meeting would take place tomorrow between CHS' human resources department and Northamber to decide how many staff would be kept on. "We haven't actually been told, but it is my gut feeling that they will not have too many vacancies," he said. The move follows months of speculation about the distributor's financial situation, culminating last week in CHS Electronics Plc, a subsidiary of CHS Electronics Holdings UK, being placed in receivership by creditor Deutsche Financial Services. Rigby said he felt "relieved that it's finally over", and was now going to concentrate on looking for a new job. However, the future of Karma UK and Metrologie UK, subsidiaries of US parent CHS Electronics, still remain undecided. A representative of BDO Stoy Hayward was tonight unable to confirm the sale of CHS Electronics Plc, saying officials were still at the distributor's offices. But it issued the following statement: "Despite lengthy negotiations, CHS Electronics have been unable to find a buyer that will purchase the business as an ongoing concern. "As a result, around 200 employees based at the company's sites at Toyne, Brentford, Woking, High Wycombe and Banbury will be made redundant. Around 30 employees have been retained by the company in receivership to support customer enquiries and to help resource their requirements from elsewhere if required." ®