WELLINGTON firm Boldscan, which makes glamping tents and marquees, has ceased trading with the loss of about 15 jobs.

The workforce were told the news just before Christmas and officially informed they had lost their jobs by the Receiver at a meeting on Friday morning.

A document handed to workers stated their employment was terminated as from December 28, and the company would officially cease to exist on January 17. It also told employees how to claim redundancy, which cannot be done until January 17.

Jim Whalley, 53, who had worked for the firm for five years, said: “It came as a complete shock. We knew things had gone quieter but it always does at this time of the year. The company has been in the hands of the CVA since last February, so we knew things were not going brilliantly. It always slows down in winter.”

Mr Whalley, who has been living locally for seven years but is originally from Reading, says he went to work on the Friday before Christmas and was told to ‘go home’.

He added: “I don’t know what I’m going to do now – obviously find another job. But this could not have come at a worse time. People have families to feed and mortgages.”

Boldscan traded from Unit 4 at Tonedale Business Park, Wellington, and was owned by the founder Steve Handsford. It was established in 1990 to fulfil an MoD contract for canvas vehicle covers to be used in Kuwait.  

At the time of going to Press, efforts to contact Mr Handsford by the WWN have been unsuccessful, although the company was still operating its answering machine on Monday.

A CVA is a legally binding agreement with a company’s creditors to allow a proportion of its debts to be paid back over time. Seventy-five per cent of creditors who voted need to support the proposal.