Abseiling company collapses into administration after more than 20 years in business

An industrial abseiling company that has been operating for more than 20 years has collapsed into voluntary administration but is continuing to trade.

Vertical Services called in external managers late last week, with Vincent Smith and Samuel Freeman from Ernst & Young acting as administrators.

The first meeting of the company’s creditors will be held on February 3 in Perth.

Vertical Services was founded in 1992 and services the oil, gas, mining and civil engineering industries.

The company, which has offices in Perth and Brisbane, offers mechanical repair and maintenance services, as well as conducting standby rescues.

Vertical Services also offers training courses accredited by the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association.

The majority of its employees are on contracts or working part-time, however administrator Vincent Smith told SmartCompany around six staff are affected by the administration.

“It’s still trading and it’s our intent to allow them to continue to trade,” Smith says.

“They’re still pursuing some reasonable sized contracts in the industry and are reasonably sized to win that work. The early discussions we’ve had with the director is around restructuring the business.”

Smith says the owner is in talks with external investors and it is likely a deed of company arrangement will be entered into in the coming weeks.