Zentia loses 170 jobs as administration halts Gateshead production
Zentia has ceased production at its two Gateshead sites after entering administration, with around 170 employees made redundant. The move leaves only a small number of staff retained while the administrators seek buyers for the business, assets and residual stock.
James Lumb, a managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: "Zentia has a rich history in the North East, stretching back more than 100 years, and so it’s a tremendous shame that the difficulties facing many businesses in the construction supply chain have resulted in it falling into administration."
Interpath takes control at Zentia
Will Wright and Lumb were appointed joint administrators to Zentia Limited and Zentia Profiles Limited. Interpath said challenging trading conditions, high energy prices on production costs and lower-than-forecast sales had hit the company hard. The company had also secured a £6.5m cash injection from its shareholder last year, then explored options for a sale.
The administrators moved quickly on production: work stopped at Zentia's two Gateshead plants after their appointment. For employees, the immediate result was redundancy for the majority of the workforce, with only a small number kept on by the administrators.
Gateshead jobs and output
170 jobs were lost at the Team Valley manufacturer, which made suspended ceilings and supplied mineral fibre tiles and grids for offices, schools and hospitals. The company had previously been renamed from Armstrong Ceiling Solutions after a German asset manager acquired it as part of a European deal.
Five years ago, the business was creating jobs by bringing its manufacturing processes in-house with a £12m finance facility. In 2023, it won the Made in Britain Award at the North East Business Awards, a contrast that now sits beside the shutdown of output in Gateshead.
Sale of business and assets
"First and foremost, our thoughts are with the companies’ dedicated staff who have been impacted by redundancy. As a matter of priority, our teams will be providing support to them over the coming days," Lumb said. "Additionally, we will now be seeking a sale of the companies’ business and assets, including its residual stock, and would encourage any interested parties to make contact with us as soon as possible."
That leaves the immediate next step in the hands of the administrators: find a buyer for the trading business, the stock and the assets, while the Gateshead operation sits shut and the local workforce absorbs the loss.
