Now smoke ban hits laundry business

Published on Friday 29 August 2008 20:53

PEOPLE dry cleaning their clothes less frequently because of a lack of smoke in pubs and restaurants has contributed to the downfall of one of Scotland's leading independent dry cleaning and laundry firms, with the loss of 17 jobs.

Scotia Laundry Services has fallen into administration following a downturn in trading in the wake of the smoking ban, coupled with hikes in fuel and energy costs to run its machinery and vehicles.

A further 91 jobs are still at risk, but administrator Tenon Recovery said it was confident it would find a buyer for the remainder of the business.

A total of four outlets have already closed in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Whitburn, while the remaining 15 are still trading.

Ian Fraser, administrator for Tenon, said: "Dry cleaning businesses have suffered over the last couple of years following the introduction of the smoking ban. Customers are not finding their clothes smell of smoke after one wearing and that side of the business has definitely taken a hit from this."

He said he was unable to comment on how much Scotia's turnover had dropped since the ban was introduced in March 2006.

Fraser added that fuel prices, for both its large-scale machinery and delivery vans, had escalated, while increased competition from large chains and supermarket dry cleaning businesses had also hit business.

He said: "They are a big commercial laundry company, so they go through a large amount of fuel every week. A combination of all of these factors meant they just could not go on any longer."

As well as the dry cleaning arm of the business, Scotia, launched in 1992, has six sites providing industrial-scale laundry facilities for corporate clients, including hotels and ferry operators.