A motorbike clothing business owned by a former British motocross champion has slumped into administration after being hit by soaring costs and the deepening consumer spending downturn.
Scott Leathers was put into administration before 60-year-old Jimmy Aird, who has been racing motocross for the past four decades, bought the company's assets via a newly formed company - a controversial move known as a "pre-pack".
The move will have left creditors to Scott Leathers, which is based in County Durham, facing the threat of being left with unpaid bills, although Andy Haslam, a partner at Begbies Traynor, the insolvency firm, said they stood to "get something back".
Haslam said the company's difficulties came in the wake of the credit crisis, with fuel and energy costs rising and sales falling off as consumers cut back on their spending.
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"We are finding in our game that everyone is being squeezed," Haslam said. "With disposable income going down, you're not going to buy new [motorbike] leathers."
Aird, who set up the company 25 years ago, declined to comment on the challenges facing the company or the administrators. The company's staff are all thought to have kept their jobs.
Scott Leathers - which prides itself on being the last major motorbike clothing manufacturer in Britain - has been hit by cheap imports from the Far East.
Most of the top European and American bike leather makers import their goods from the Asia-Pacific region but Scott has marketed itself as a British choice.
News of the company's administration comes as figures prepared by The Sunday Telegraph highlight the challenges facing Britain's small and medium-sized businesses.
Compiled from filings with the High Court, the figures show that 275 British companies appointed administrators last month, of which a third were linked to the housing market.
Companies in the construction and property industries accounted for 19 per cent of the administrations, with a further 14 per cent active in the "home help" sector, such as carpet layers, furniture makers, kitchen fitters or a host of other trades.
Manufacturers made up 14 per cent, while motoring and transport companies accounted for a further 8 per cent.
Scott Leathers in Administration
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