Eastbourne laundry workforce jobless and unpaid at Christmas

The logo of the company, which is more than a century old

Employees arriving for work at White Knight Laundry Services in Hammonds Drive last week (December 8) were met by administrators who told them the firm, founded in 1904, was closing after attempts to turn the business’s financial fortunes around had failed.

Staff say they have been left without their wages and unemployed in the run-up to Christmas. The company, a provider of laundry cleaning services and linen hire to both commercial and domestic customers, is now in administration and is being sold off.

Administrator Steve Absolom said, “The company has ceased to trade and the majority of the firm’s 131 employees have been made redundant. The facility at Eastbourne has been unable to process enough of a critical mass of laundry to make the plant financially sustainable.

“Despite the efforts to effect a turnaround, management have taken the difficult decision to place the company into administration.

“Over the coming days, our priority is to ensure all employees who have been made redundant receive the information and guidance they need in order to claim monies owed from the Redundancy Payments Office.

“We will also be seeking buyers for the mothballed facility and its assets, and would urge any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible.”

Staff were in tears at the news and did not receive their wages, which were due on December 8.

Driver Darren Fuller, 45, said, “It’s awful, absolutely terrible. A lot of staff are really unhappy. It’s a nightmare.

“The management didn’t even show their faces. Why didn’t ther let us know?”

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