Cleveland Cable Co turnover hit by downturn

Feb 8 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

A CABLE company run by two of the region’s richest brothers has seen turnover fall by 14% to £190m, with the rapid decline in the construction industry impacting on sales.

Figures released for Middlesbrough-based Cleveland Cable Company show that revenues fell from £217m in the year ending April 2008 to £190m in the corresponding period last year.

The bottom line was also hit, with pre-tax profits falling from £27.3m to £6.1m in the same period.

In its annual results, Cleveland Cable recorded a loss of £2.5m on deposits placed at two Icelandic banks. The company, which was started in 1977 by brothers Alastair and Michael Powell, is the largest electrical cable distributor in the United Kingdom.

The Middlesbrough head office covers a 12-acre site, with over 160,000sqft of warehousing and the company also has depots at Bristol, Glasgow, London, Milton Keynes, Newcastle and Warrington.

In a brief note on the company’s performance during the year, the directors reported: “Results are in accordance with expectations and the financial position at the end of the period is considered to be satisfactory.

“The principal risk and uncertainties facing the company concern the price of copper and there were adverse price movements during the year. This suppressed profitability and turnover.”

Staff numbers reduced slightly during the year, from 412 to 404.

The Powell brothers, who declined an opportunity to speak to nebusiness, regularly appear in the North East rich list, with an estimated fortune of over £100m.

The brothers were also recently named as the wealthiest property developers in the region by national magazine Estates Gazette. It reported they had assets of some £98.6m, while a related property company, Cable Properties and Investments, has assets of £69m.