Jobs go as kit house maker fails

TORWOOD Timber Systems, a Livingston-based kit house maker, is in administration and has lost almost half of its workforce, it emerged yesterday.

Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of accountancy firm KPMG were appointed as joint administrators on Thursday at the request of the company directors.

In the year to 31 January 2009, the company turned over about 5 million but was hit by the downturn in the housing market and the rising cost of credit. The administrators made 16 of the 34 employees redundant, with the remaining 18 working with KPMG to sell the firm's assets.

Nimmo, head of restructuring at KPMG in Scotland, said: "Over the past 18 months, Torwood experienced a decline in turnover as the house-building sector slowed due to the impact of the credit crunch and economic slowdown.

"In recent months, a few of the company's suppliers have reduced credit terms as credit insurance has become more difficult to retain. At the same time, certain key customers have cancelled forward orders as they shift away from timber kit techniques towards more traditional bricks and mortar construction."

Torwood was founded in 2003 and grew to employ 60 staff.