Redundancies loom as 20:20 and Dextra businesses merge

20:20 is set to make a raft of redundancies at its UK business, as it looks to eradicate duplication in functions across its 20:20, Dextra Solutions and Caudwell Logistics divisions.

It comes after the long-awaited integration of the separate businesses. James Browning (pictured, right), the former Dextra chief, has been appointed MD of the new UK business, with 20:20 boss Trevor Price moving to the Middle East.
The company is currently building its new UK management team, using the individuals who had headed up the Dextra and 20:20 businesses.

A further rung of the sales, purchasing, marketing and finance functions are expected to be reviewed in the coming weeks.

Oldersma said: ‘In the three-year plan we’ve written, we’ve seen that the UK is flat. It is simply not growing. The organisational design had to reflect that. It had to be more relationship based, and on process.’

He added: ‘We had to ask ourselves, “how can we make ourselves more efficient, and offer a more efficient service to customers and suppliers?”’

The move follows a refinancing of the group two months ago, which saw the debt hanging over the company cut from £265m to £92m in exchange for the debt syndicate taking a 45% stake in the business.

20:20 also managed to stave off a hostile acquisition attempt by rival distributor Data Select for £120m, pursued by owner Peter Jones.

It has been a painful 18 months for 20:20, following sliding sales, missed targets and tensions between 20:20, its parent company Doughty Hanson and the debt syndicate that financed Doughty Hanson’s acquisition of the distributor in 2006.