House sellers with properties on the market with Barbers Estate agents - which went into administration last week - are being assured it’s “business as usual.”
The firm called in Birmingham-based administrators, Begbies Traynor, last week and announced it was closing four of its offices - including its branch in Telford town centre - making 60 people redundant.
Other offices being closed are Shrewsbury town centre, Newport and Stafford. Wellington, Whitchurch, and Market Drayton all remain open.
This week, a spokesman for Begbies Traynor assured sellers who already have properties on the market with Barbers that business would continue as normal.
“We would like to assure customers who already have a property on the market with Barbers Estate agents that it is business as usual,” said the spokesman.
“Barbers are still marketing and selling properties through the offices that are remaining open. Anyone who went through the four offices that are being closed will be transferred to Wellington, Whitchurch or Market Drayton.”
Barbers Auction, which looks after the livestock market in Market Drayton, is a separate business and is not affected, the spokesman added.
Speaking earlier this week, John Kelly, a partner at Begbies Traynor said Barbers had run into difficulties due to the credit crunch.
“Obviously Barbers is a very long established agency but it expanded very rapidly in the better years - as a result of which, in the current climate, it has run into cash difficulties which has culminated in our appointment,” he said.
“Having said that, because they have been there for a long time and have a variety of different assets to the business, we are reasonably confident we will be able to find a buyer for part, if not the whole, of it.”
