Job losses as Cupar-based company enters administration

Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of KPMG were appointed as joint administrators for Sabre Safety Limited, an oil and gas safety services company.

The firm, which also has premises in Aberdeen, has 45 employees – 37 based in Cupar and eight in Aberdeen.

Thirty workers have been made redundant – 23 in Cupar and seven in Aberdeen – while a core staff of 15 are assisting the joint administrators in safeguarding the company’s assets while they explore the possibility of securing a sale.

Sabre Safety has been adversely affected by the downturn in the oil and gas sector to the extent that its turnover reduced from around £13m in 2014 to £5.5m in 2016.

The company was unable to reduce overheads in line with declining sales levels and also suffered contractual problems in its Italian division. These factors led to significant losses being incurred during 2016.

In the latter part of 2016, the company attempted to find a buyer or fresh investment but was unsuccessful despite some interest.

Mr Nimmo, joint administrator and UK head of restructuring at KPMG, said: “Sabre Safety Limited is a well-established specialist in offshore and onshore gas safety and protection services and products. Unfortunately the company has suffered a significant drop in sales due to the reduced levels of activity in the oil and gas sector.

“The company director explored a range of options to secure the future of the business and while we believe there have been expressions of interest recently, a deal could not be finalised. It is highly regrettable that so many redundancies have been required today.

“We hope that the key assets and infrastructure of Sabre Safety will be attractive to other operators in the sector. With that in mind, we are welcoming early notices of interest. The joint administrators are working with employees affected by redundancies to provide guidance and support.”

Anyone with an interest in buying the business should contact Tony Friar on 0141 300 5736.