ONE of the UK’s leading arb and forestry equipment suppliers has gone out of business, it has been confirmed.

Long-established family business FR Jones & Son announced it had gone into administration earlier today (Monday, 26th June).

A statement on the company’s website read: “Please note that at 14.08 pm on 26 June 2023, Arvindar Singh and Ben Jones of FRP Advisory Trading Limited were appointed as Joint Administrators of F R Jones and Son Limited.

“The Administrators will be writing to all creditors and outstanding customers to notify creditors and customers of the Administration. In the meantime, creditors and outstanding customers can contact FRP Advisory Trading by sending emails to the following address: frjones@frpadvisory.com

“The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Administrators and who act as agents of the Company without personal liability.

“Insolvency Practitioners are bound by the Insolvency Code of Ethics when carrying out all professional work relating to an insolvency appointment.”

Forestry Journal:

Established over 40 years ago, FR Jones & Son was a trusted supplier to the trade, offering everything from ropes to chainsaws to chippers, with brands including Stihl, Husqvarna, DMM and Arbortec.

Founded by the late Fred Jones, it remained a family enterprise under the control of his son Bob and grandson Justin, with a brick-and-mortar outlet as well as an online store.

The announcement ended a period of intense speculation over the company’s future, with members of various online arb communities debating whether it had gone bankrupt and fearing they would not be refunded money for unfulfilled orders.

A follow-up statement from Justin Jones read: “FRP Advisory will be continuing their discussions with interested parties who have been asked to submit their offers and proposals by 12 noon on 27 June 2023. Thereafter, the administrators will seek to complete a sale of the business and assets as quickly as possible, hopefully by the end of the week.

“At this stage I am not able to comment further about the administrators’ appointment or the steps they will be taking regarding a sale of business.

“I would ask that you wait for official communication from the administrators.

“For the past week I’ve been reading on here all the comments and not being able to respond due to the advice I was given and being wary of the legal nature of this process. This has been very hard emotionally for me and my family, and I can’t comment any further for now to try to protect them.”

Forestry Journal: