Leicestershire-based manufacturer and supplier of showering products Aqualux has fallen into administration 'due to volatile trading conditions in the home improvement sector and inflationary pressures' with the loss of 18 jobs. Specialist business advisory firm FRP Advisory’s Raj Mittal and Ben Jones have been appointed joint administrators of the business – in a statement partner at FRP Advisory Raj Mittal said: “Aqualux Ltd is a well-regarded brand that has been in the sector for almost 40 years.
“Unfortunately, due to the impact of the cost of living crisis on the home improvement sector and ongoing financial pressures due to material cost inflation, the business was no longer able to continue trading.
“We are now focusing on marketing the sale assets and providing support to all affected employees with their applications to the Redundancy Payments Service.”
Aqualux Showers was founded in 1979 and was acquired by AQ Group, backed by private investment business Intrinsic Equity, from Dutch bathroom giant Fetim in late 2019. Quite what will happen with its sister brand, hand-crafted shower enclosure manufacturer Aqata Limited, is not yet known. Aqata was established by Peter Brown in 1986 and acquired by Intrinsic Equity in 2020.
At the time Aqata's acquisition, AQ Group CEO Steve Lee said: “Aqata shower enclosures are British designed and hand crafted in its modern factory in Leicestershire. Whilst 2020 has seen major changes and uncertainty for the UK following Brexit and Covid-19, this acquisition offers great flexibility for our customers: a British manufacturing facility combined with the long established global sourcing model of Aqualux, this will ensure we can continue to provide a dynamic, speed to market offering with competitive pricing; all backed by a market-leading service and significant inventory throughout our supply chain.”
Aqata's company website is currently suspended. In addition, on 27th August, compulsory strike-off notices were posted on Companies House giving both Aqualux and Aqata 2 months to prove that they should not be dissolved.
