Receivership leaves LWR staff in limbo

Century-old Christchurch clothing-maker Lane Walker Rudkin (LWR) Industries is in receivership, leaving 470 staff facing an uncertain future.

Workers in Australia and New Zealand including about 300 in Christchurch are still being paid.

Banker Westpac has appointed BDO Spicers as the receiver-manager of the textile manufacturer.

A BDO Spicers staff member visited the Christchurch plant in Sydenham yesterday.

The LWR operations were unprofitable and the company had incurred a substantial increase in bank debt, said receivers Brian Mayo-Smith and Stephen Tubbs, partners in BDO Spicers.

Tubbs said receivers now had full control over the businesses.

Christchurch businessman Ken Anderson bought LWR in 2001, and subsidiary Pod in 2007.

Yesterday, he did not want to comment on the receivership.

LWR has hosiery and garment factories in Christchurch; garment manufacturers in Greytown and Pahiatua; a sock factory in Timaru and a sports apparel factory in Brisbane.

Pod comprised fabric-maker Designer Textiles International, clothing designer and manufacturer Michele Ann, and Mollers Homewares, all in Auckland.

"Information available up to this point would appear to indicate that the Pod operations are profitable and cash positive," Tubbs said.

"These operations will be ring-fenced under a dedicated board and management structure reporting to the receivers."

Chief executive Malcolm Walkinshaw and chief financial officer George Gin would remain and receivers understood the bank would provide extra finance to ensure Pod's short-term liquidity and flexibility.

More information was needed about the LWR businesses before receivers could take action or make decisions about the company's operations.

"What we can be sure of is that the decision to appoint receivers has not been taken lightly it has become unavoidable through a significant deterioration in the overall financial position of the LWR businesses," Tubbs said.

In November, LWR Industries made 60 staff redundant, citing lack of export demand, but said the business was profitable.

A staff member, who did not want to be named, said she was still in shock and the announcement had not yet sunk in.

Staff had been told the business would continue to operate, but were not told what would happen in the long-term, she said.

National Distribution Union secretary of the clothing and textiles sector Maxine Gay asked that receivers work with it and workers to salvage the operation.

Anderson also owns Champions of the World, and, with son Mark, Stirling Sports.