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UK yarn spinner supports viability
May 20, 2024
Leading UK wool yarn spinner Lawton Yarns has "secured its viability" against demanding market conditions despite a drop in sales and falling into loss in 2023.
Lawton is the major source of wool yarn for many UK carpet manufacturers and in its latest filed accounts for the year ended 30 September 2023, total sales fell 2.9% with UK revenues flat and exports nearly halved.
As a result, the company's losses amounted ot £231,000 compared to a profit of £83,000 in 2022.
Directors cited cost pressures including utility charges, interest rates and the rise in the National Minimum Wage but added “in the face of these pressures, price increase and continued customer loyalty has enabled the directors to secure volume to preserve viability. This strategy saw turnover stable at £32.7m with improved productivity increasing gross margin 11% (2022- 9.8%)."
Originally a family-owned business, Lawton Yarns experienced a turbulent period in 2019 which saw its parent group enter insolvency. The yarn manufacturer was later acquired by Breal Capital in 2020.
In 2022, the West Yorkshire-based business returned to private ownership following a management buy-out based on a £13.4m facility from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance.
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