New Gaskell Carpet Business Acquires Hugh Mackay

Lancashire, England, May 25--With the recent demise of Gaskell plc and the closure of Hugh Mackay Carpets’ Durham factory, it looked as though two of the biggest and best known brands in the carpet industry might disappear, following the path of many other UK floorcovering and textile manufacturing concerns to have fallen upon hard times in recent years. However, just a few days after Gaskell plc went into administration in March, a successful MBO led by the former plc chief executive, Gerry Wheeler, rescued the core contract carpet manufacturing business from the administrators, along with 145 jobs. This new refocused business then surprised the industry earlier this month by stepping in to acquire the assets of former arch rival Hugh Mackay Carpets from the receivers, a move which brought the two historic carpet brands under one roof. By acquiring Hugh Mackay, Gaskell has added significantly to its areas of expertise, its overall manufacturing capacity, its client list and sales potential. Gaskell’s strengths are in axminster and tufted carpets and its rapid bespoke design and weaving capabilities. This acquisition takes the company into the additional area of Wilton manufacturing and consequently boosts its potential in the transport market. Hugh Mackay is a major player in the cruise ship and passenger transport sectors and has supplied prestigious liners such as the QE1 and QE2. Gaskell now has access to Hugh Mackay’s extensive client list, which includes venues such as Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, the Houses of Parliament, Windsor Castle and many other royal residences across the world. Importantly for Gaskell, Hugh Mackay is a Royal Warrant Holder for the supply of carpets to Her Majesty’s royal households. The acquisition also strengthens Gaskell’s export potential and relationships with overseas trading partners. The new business is now known as Gaskell Mackay. The Head Office is at Wheatfield Mill in Rishton, Blackburn, alongside the main manufacturing plant. Former MD of Hugh Mackay’s, Steve Cowie, has joined the new Board of Directors as Deputy MD to Gerry Wheeler, "With the addition of Hugh Mackay’s business, expertise, manufacturing capacity and customer base this is a very much stronger business than it was a few weeks ago. We have salvaged the essence of Hugh Mackay through this acquisition and will continue to support and develop the brand alongside the Gaskell portfolio. "We have a strong national salesforce selling the complete range of Gaskell and Hugh Mackay carpets across all parts of the commercial sector in the UK and we are also planning a major export drive as we now have the capability to become a much more prominent player on the international stage. "We have an experienced, highly skilled workforce and a world class manufacturing plant. We produce carpets in an advanced manner achieving exceptional efficiencies and speed of manufacturing. An important part of our future lies in customisation, and we have a really strong technical advantage to exploit. There are few manufacturers in the world who can do what we do, which is to get a bespoke design brief from a client onto the loom as a unique manufactured carpet and into the back of a delivery van in as little as three weeks. "We will continue to launch exciting new Axminster, tufted and Wilton designs to develop our share of the competitive leisure market. We are also fully geared up to develop a much greater share of the general commercial carpet market with a raft of new stocked tufted ranges to meet different sector requirements."

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