50 jobs lost as Grange winds up

Oct 21 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

A KITCHEN company has been wound up with the loss of 50 jobs after trading in administration for five weeks without a buyer being found.

Grange Kitchens, based on the Tyne Tunnel trading estate, North Shields, was placed in the hands of administrators Begbies Traynor in mid-September.

Andrew Haslam, of Begbies Traynor, said: “The company traded in administration for five weeks but we were unable to find a buyer. The business has been exposed to the downturn in the construction industry and the orders had dried up.”

The 17 staff retained by the administrator during its spell in administration have been laid-off.

Grange’s primary market was designing and fitting kitchens for new-build homes. It was founded by Eric Steven and a number of business partners in 1973 and two years later, he took over the company and expanded into assembling kitchen units.

Its expansion over the years saw it move premises a number of times eventually moving to the Tyne Tunnel trading estate in 2003.

Four years later David and Craig Steven took over the running of the business.