Car component company Drivelink seeks buyer

Feb 5 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A TYNESIDE motor component company has called in the administrators after losing a major customer.

But KPMG Restructuring said that none of the 53 staff at Drivelink UK Ltd have lost their jobs and it is now attempting to sell the Gateshead business as a going concern.

The business, which was set up in 1993, lost an unnamed “key customer” last year as its struggled to survive the recession, which hit the motor market particularly hard.

KPMG’s Howard Smith, who was appointed joint administrator with Mark Firmin, said: “The problems faced by Drivelink are typical of those facing many UK component manufacturers who have been left highly stressed as a result of the downturn in the wider automotive sector.

“The administrators will continue to trade the business while we seek a buyer, and would encourage any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible. Even at this early stage, there has been quite a lot of interest in the business. There are no plans to make any immediate redundancies.”

Team Valley Trading Estate-based Drivelink, which was set up in 1993, re-manufactures automotive parts which are sold in the UK and to mainland Europe through its links with large national distribution groups.

The independent company also makes bespoke components for the autosport, four-wheel-drive and off-road vehicle market.