A BUYER is being sought for a venerable Dundee carpet yarns specialist which has fallen into insolvency because of “unsustainable cash-flow issues”.

All 61 staff of Bonar Yarns are being kept on, and the administrators said yesterday that the business would continue trading “in the short term” while they attempt to find a buyer.

The carpet yarns company is based at the Caldrum Works in Dundee and can trace its roots back to the foundation in 1903 of Low & Bonar. Bonar Yarns was acquired from Low & Bonar by a management buyout team in 2020. It has an annual turnover of around £6.5 million, with exports accounting for the bulk of its sales.

Dundee, from the 18th century, had a burgeoning textiles industry, although much of this is now gone.

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Michelle Elliot and Callum Carmichael, partners with FRP Advisory, have been appointed joint administrators of Bonar Yarns, which manufactures specialist polypropylene carpet-backing yarns.

The manufacturer's range of advanced backing yarns is used across the world in various environments and sectors, the administrators noted.

The product range includes flame-retardant yarns for the travel flooring market. It also takes in ultraviolet-stabilised yarns for the outdoor flooring market. And it includes yarns made from recycled polypropylene for the fast-expanding sustainable flooring market and the artificial sports turf market.

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Bonar Yarns notes on its website that its ultraviolet inhibitor for outdoor carpets and rugs stops the polypropylene yarn from degrading when exposed to UV rays.

A spokesman for FRP Advisory said that exports account for between 80 per cent and 90% of Bonar Yarns’ annual turnover.

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Asked about the cash-flow pressure, the spokesman flagged “soaring utility costs” as among the factors.

FRP Advisory said: “The administration was caused by unsustainable cash-flow issues. The business will continue trading in the short term whilst the joint administrators search for a buyer. There have been no redundancies.”

Ms Elliot said: “Bonar Yarns Limited can trace its history back to the foundation in 1903 of the famous Low & Bonar business that specialised in the manufacture of technical textiles. Following a management buyout, the business focused on developing and marketing innovative yarns for a variety of different floor covering and artificial sports turf markets.

“We will continue to trade the business in the short term whilst marketing the business and assets for sale with immediate effect, and would urge interested parties to contact us as soon as possible."

Bonar Yarns notes on its website that it has been manufacturing “quality polypropylene backing yarns” for Axminster and Wilton woven carpets since 1970. It flags its “worldwide renowned reputation”.

It highlights its environmentally sustainable yarns, made from 100%-recycled polypropylene.

Bonar Yarns notes its flame-retardant yarns are used for flooring on aircraft, cruise ships and trains, and highlights the reduced weight enabled by the polypropylene material.

The Low & Bonar group was for decades listed on the stock market. It was bought by German company Freudenberg in a deal which was also completed in 2020.