In a statement released at 2.45pm this afternoon administrators have confirmed the winding down of UK, Poole-based distributor Sowester Simpson-Lawrence.

Myles Halley, joint administrative receiver from KPMG Corporate Recovery, has announced that Sowester Simpson-Lawrence has been unsuccessful in obtaining a sale of the business as a going concern.

This follows an offer that was made subject to contract last week to purchase the marine distribution business. However, the sale was dependent on the support of certain major suppliers which have since withdrawn their backing, prominent among them Mercury Marine’s European arm, Marine Power Europe. A further 54 staff have now been made redundant leaving a workforce of 46 to assist the receivers with their duties, including collecting debts and selling stock and assets.

Myles Halley commented: “This is sad news for the management and workforce of Sowester Simpson-Lawrence. We’ve been particularly impressed by their commitment during this difficult time and are disappointed not to have been able to secure a sale of the business as a going concern.

“Our focus will now be on effecting the swift collection of customer accounts and a controlled sale of the stock and other assets of the business.”