Jobs in doubt as famous Rotherham employer calls in administrators
AROUND 200 jobs are under threat after Rotherham metal recycling firm CF Booth went into administration.
It follows the death of director and owner Ken Booth, with the company filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
James Ronald Alexander Lumb and Howard Smith of Interpath Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators, according to a notice published in The London Gazette.
That is a legal process used when a company is in serious financial difficulty, allowing independent specialists to take control to try to save, sell or restructure the business.
While it does not automatically mean closure, jobs can be at risk.
Founded in the 1920s, the family-run business grew from a small local scrap trader into one of the largest independently run metal recycling companies in Europe, employing generations of Rotherham families.
Its main site, Clarence Metal Works, is close to the old Millmoor football ground.
The company had a national reputation among rail enthusiasts because it was used to scrap rolling stock, including some locomotives much-admired among trainspotters.
The news prompted an outpouring of reaction on social media.
The National Wagon Preservation Group said it was “sad news” that the company was winding down following the recent death of Mr Booth.
“With 200 staff on the books and many more throughout the supply chain, it’s not a happy new year for them,” the group said.
“With a sympathetic attitude to preservation going back over half a century, there can’t be many preservation sites out there without some component or stock that was once a CF Booth asset.”
Tributes were also paid to Ken Booth personally.
One post read: “RIP Ken – a proper old-school gentleman.”
Alongside his role as a prominent metal businessman and former Rotherham United chairman, Mr Booth helped rescue the club from potential financial collapse in 1987 and remained in the role until December 2004.
In later years, he became closely involved in bringing Millmoor, the club’s former home, back into use, supporting work to refurbish facilities, clear the site and improve the pitch for local teams.
He recently joined supporters at the Tivoli End for a re-recording of the club anthem Millermen, an event which raised thousands of pounds for Rotherham Hospice.