An innovative provider of wi-fi services to construction sites has been rescued having run into difficulties created by the collapse of high profile customers.
Trench Networks specialised in providing remote internet to sites that otherwise lacked the infrastructure but found itself facing cash flow problems when a series of regional contractors, including Tolent and Metnor Construction, went bust earlier this year. The Hebburn-based firm, which had previously operated from Cramlington, has now been sold to Northern Telecommunications, saving seven jobs in the process.
The value of the pre-pack sale is yet to be disclosed, and the move comes as founder and director Kevin Lattimer was praised by insolvency experts at FRP for swift action in the face of challenges. Earlier this year, when major insolvencies caused turmoil in the regional construction sector, Trench Networks quickly lost a number of sites it it was working on, which led the firm to incur bad debts and associated loss of turnover.
Read more: Packaging specialists join forces thanks to acquisition
The sudden loss of business restricted Trench's cash flow and led to arrears with creditors. FRP was called and a subsequent sale process resulted in a buyer being found.
Andrew Haslam, joint administrator and partner of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, said: "The director sought advice from us at an early stage, which gave us lots of options to consider rather than seeking professional advice at the eleventh hour. Because of this early engagement, it allowed a marketing exercise to be undertaken which prompted significant interest in the business.
"Ultimately, a trade purchaser was identified and a contract negotiated to sell the business and rescue the staff. This is a positive result and we hope that the purchaser can take the business forward and expand on the success of the founders."
In 2021, Trench Networks received £500,000 investment from the North East Venture Fund supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia. The sum was the fourth injection by the the Fund into Trench, overall amounting to £1m at the time.
The firm's Outpost connection device overhauled the way in which construction firms accessed internet and phone services on sites and was used on major sites such as the £800m NOMA neighbourhood in Manchester and the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) in Oxfordshire. The technology aggregated connections from all major mobile networks and combined them to provide a reliable internet services.
It was also applied in other hard to reach locations such as wind farms and electric vehicle charging stations. Latterly the firm had also delivered a ‘wi-fi SOS’ service for businesses suffering outages or moving to sites which lack connectivity.
