Kathrine Frich
For nearly eight decades, Waterline Limited was a cornerstone of Britain’s kitchen supply industry.
But this month, the company that once served thousands of retailers and fitters across the country suddenly went bust, leaving more than 100 employees without jobs and customers scrambling for answers.
A shock after decades of success
Based in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, Waterline was known as “the UK’s largest supplier to the independent kitchen retail sector.”
The firm, founded in 1947, filed for administration earlier this month, forcing 105 redundancies.
The collapse came as a major shock to traders who had relied on the company for years.
Kitchen fitter Dean Bridgen, who spent £20,000 on a new showroom kitchen in Cornwall using Waterline products, told the BBC he received a warning call days before opening.
“The first thing we did was panic. We just didn’t have any communication,” he said.
From pandemic boom to financial strain
Administrator Alex Cadwallader, appointed on October 9, said Waterline had experienced a surge in orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a steep decline in the years since.
Rising costs, the end of the home improvement boom, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis all hit the business hard.
He added that higher National Insurance contributions and falling consumer spending left the company unable to recover.
“The directors were forward thinking and took all the correct steps you would expect them to,” he said, but noted that transparency about financial troubles often worsens a company’s situation.
5,000 customers affected
At the time of its collapse, Waterline reportedly worked with around 5,000 independent retailers and kitchen fitters nationwide.
While administrators continue to assess the company’s assets, many small businesses are left uncertain about unpaid orders and supply chain disruptions.
Waterline’s fall marks another blow to the UK’s struggling home improvement and retail sectors, both facing mounting pressure from inflation, rising costs, and slowing consumer demand
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, which may have used AI in the preparation
