Ambass-A-Door assets sold off

An auction of the assets of Ambass-A-Door has been completed but the name of the company may still live on.

The joinery manufacturer was forced to close following the impact of a serious fire last year and put all its machinery up for sale.

Finlo Corrin, spokesperson of auctioneer Sanderson Weatherall, said the May 20 auction was successful, with total sales of woodworking machinery up 5% on expectations. A young Powermat 400 moulder sold for £33,000.

Mr Corrin said the intangible assets of Ambass-A-Door and sister company Sprowston Joinery were up for sale, including the company’s name, website content and window designs.

“It’s not being sold as an operating business because there has been no factory since the fire,” said Mr Corrin. “An existing manufacturer may be interested in the intangible assets and the vendor would be willing to help in the transfer process.”

Ambass-A-Door and Sprowston Joinery suffered a major fire at the Norwich factory in August 2009 and then experienced insurance difficulties. Damage estimated at several hundred thousand pounds had been caused by a fire started by a neighbouring property burning rubbish.

Ambass-A-Door, one of the early members of the British Woodworking Federation’s (BWF) Timber Window Accreditation scheme, told the BWF that the company’s closure was a very “sad day”, but it thanked BWF staff for their help over the years.

Ambass-A-Door managing director David Lomax said potential buyers had a chance to purchase a range of proven window designs. Mr Lomax has written a reflection of lessons to be learned from the fire, viewable by visiting click here