Nobles calls in administrators as white knight prepares rescue plan

One of SA’s oldest companies has called in administrators, with 170 staff sweating on whether a rescue package can save their jobs.

One of South Australia’s oldest industrial companies is in a battle for survival, with hundreds of employees and creditors pinning their hopes on a white knight to rescue the business.

Nobles, which has a history dating back to 1911, called in administrators last week following years of losses.

The business supplies lifting and rigging products and services to the mining, oil & gas, defence and other industries, employing close to 170 staff, most at its Kilburn headquarters.

Administrators, led by James McPherson of Meertens, are continuing to trade the business while working with creditors, the company’s directors and a potential purchaser on a deal to save the company from closure.

Mr McPherson said the company had struggled to bounce back from the end of the mining boom, and Covid-19 had also played a role in its recent demise.

“It’s been a confluence of factors and Covid was among them,” he said.

“Essentially what happened was that it was a $90m dollar business and it had a commensurate cost structure to meet sales of that order.

The Nobles HQ on Grand Junction Rd in Kilburn Picture: Supplied

“And then with the mining boom coming off, your revenue starts falling and you find that your cost structure is a bit sticky, especially when you have some long term building leases and so forth.

“There’s been a long ongoing effort to restructure the business and where it finds itself today is at the tail end of that process.”

The company’s latest financial report reveals that revenue slid to $43.8m last financial year, resulting in a $1.2m loss. A $3.4m loss was reported in 2019-20.

Mr McPherson declined to reveal how much in unpaid entitlements employees were owed, but said about 400 unsecured supplier creditors were owed $5.3m, and debtor finance provider Scottish Pacific was also chasing an undisclosed debt.

Creditors will vote on a rescue deal – currently being finalised by a potential purchaser of the company – at a second meeting next month. If they vote against the proposal, Nobles will be put into liquidation and the company shut down.

Mr McPherson said he would consider the terms of the purchase proposal before issuing a recommendation to creditors.

“We have a potential purchaser and that party will propose a deed of company arrangement,” he said.

Former Nobles managing director Guy Roberts resigned in December. Picture Dean Martin

“The doors are open, I have funding, and we’ll get to the second meeting, put the proposal and my recommendation to creditors.

“I think it’s a good proposal but I need to balance that against what liquidation looks like, and then I’ll provide my recommendation.”

Nobles was established by founder George Adie Noble as a coal dust marketer to the foundry industry in 1911, and remains majority family-owned.

Former managing director Guy Roberts, who was recruited in 2016 to breathe new life into the business following the mining downturn, resigned last December.

At its height Nobles employed close to 300 staff and was the country’s largest supplier of lifting and rigging services, designing, distributing and manufacturing products including wire ropes, synthetic and chain slings, hoisting equipment and other industrial components.

The first meeting of creditors will be held via teleconference on June 27, followed by a second meeting to be held by July 20.