MBL up for sale

15th Mar 2011 08:36

MBL Group is looking for a buyer after its major customer, supermarket chain Morrisons, formally confirmed that it will terminate two supply agreements with the home entertainment products distributor on 14 September 2011.The company had been hoping to replace some of the lost business with Morrisons by securing the third party logistics tender but it has been informed it has lost out in this contest.Morrisons had been MBL's major customer, and in the year to 31 March 2010 orders from the supermarket chain accounted for around 78% of MBL's turnover.The company is planning to cut down the size of its operations which will result in a number of redundancies.The company is commencing discussions with Morrisons and the new service provider regarding those employees who will be in eligible for transfer under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations at the end of the agreements.Talks are also in progress about the piles of entertainment products MBL has bought in expectation of providing them to Morrisons. Steven Phillip Walsh-Hill, who has been finance director since the end of January, has lasted less than two months in the job and will be leaving with immediate effect by mutual agreement after the two parties failed to come to an agreement on the terms of his appointment.