News: How much Ron Hull paid for CF Booth, the massive Rotherham scrap yard, and Millmoor
An administrator's report has revealed further details of the deal which saw the sale of the business and assets of historic Rotherham firm, CF Booth Limited, to Hu11 Limited, a subsidiary of Ron Hull Jnr Limited.
James Lumb and Howard Smith from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to CF Booth Limited, one of the UK’s leading metal recycling companies, in January. A number of the company's subsidiaries entered administration in the following months.
All eight companies were acquired by Hu11 Limited in March. The transactions for subsidiaries, Demex and Albion Jones, were going concern sales, allowing the demolition business to continue operations.
Administrators say that, following an accelerated marketing and sale process, six bidders were shortlisted based on value, confirmed funding and the ability to complete within the required timeframe. A sale of substantially all of the group's business and assets was concluded to Hu11 Limited for total consideration of £13.77m exclusive of VAT.
The administrator's report shows that £7.25m was for the freehold of the Armer Street premises - the 35-acre site at Masbrough which includes the Clarence Metal Works and Rotherham United's former home, Millmoor.
£3.4m was for plant and machinery, with the rest for other properties, stock and vehicles.
29 staff moved over as part of the demolition businesses but 149 were made redundant.
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As previously reported by Rothbiz, CF Booth had £46m debts when it entered administration.
The business experienced substantial operational and financial headwinds, including sharp rises in energy costs and pronounced volatility in copper prices.
One of the group's largest debt was with IGF, which only provided a £20m asset-based lending facility in 2025. The debt totalled £14.2m and administrators confirm that IGF has been repaid in full from a combination of book debt collections and the sale of business proceeds.
£1.24m remained outstanding to HMRC in outstanding VAT, PAYE and National Insurance Contributions with Interpath expecting that they should receive a dividend.
£30.6m was owed to unsecured creditors. Administrators say: "Based on current estimates, we anticipate that unsecured creditors should receive a dividend. We have yet to determine the amount of this, but we will do so when we have completed the realisation of assets and payment of associated costs.
"It is intended that the Company will be placed into creditors' voluntary liquidation in order to make a distribution to the unsecured creditors prior to the end date of the administration, which is 15 January 2027."
Unsecured creditors in administration are suppliers, customers, or contractors without security for their debt, ranking at the bottom of the repayment priority list.
The unsecured creditors list released previously included £3.5m - Employees, £14.3m - Intercompany creditors and another £2.2m - Other HMRC and HSE Fines & Penalties. Company trade creditors were listed with the total owed at £8.2m.
Whilst trading, CF Booth received notice that its appeal against an historical VAT Penalty assessment dating back a decade was unsuccessful resulting in a penalty of £1.4m becoming payable to HMRC. C F Booth Ltd was then fined £1.2m by the HSE after an investigation following the death of an employee on site.
Administrators add that they are "reviewing the affairs of the Company to find out if there are any actions which can be taken against third parties to increase recoveries for creditors.
"We have considered matters raised by creditors, reviewed transactions involving connected parties, assessed the Company's governance and record-keeping practices, analysed information relating to asset disposals and creditor treatment, and investigated matters requiring further enquiry in accordance with our statutory obligations.
"Significant time has also been spent reviewing and assessing information received from third parties, including creditor representations, professional advisers and government agencies, together with preparing and submitting our report on the conduct of the directors to the Insolvency Service, which is confidential."
Since concluding the deal, Ron Hull moved quickly to take on the fully operational rail siding which has enabled the provider of a range of metal recovery and waste recycling services to offer decommissioned rail stack handling and the sale and loading of scrap metal via rail.
Buildings on the site, considered to be in poor condition and surplus to requirements, were earmarked for demolition and planning permission was secured to demolish the stands and structures at Millmoor. Work started on the historic football stadium last month.
Ron Hull website
Images: Google Maps / RUFC
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James Lumb and Howard Smith from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to CF Booth Limited, one of the UK’s leading metal recycling companies, in January. A number of the company's subsidiaries entered administration in the following months.
All eight companies were acquired by Hu11 Limited in March. The transactions for subsidiaries, Demex and Albion Jones, were going concern sales, allowing the demolition business to continue operations.
Administrators say that, following an accelerated marketing and sale process, six bidders were shortlisted based on value, confirmed funding and the ability to complete within the required timeframe. A sale of substantially all of the group's business and assets was concluded to Hu11 Limited for total consideration of £13.77m exclusive of VAT.
The administrator's report shows that £7.25m was for the freehold of the Armer Street premises - the 35-acre site at Masbrough which includes the Clarence Metal Works and Rotherham United's former home, Millmoor.
£3.4m was for plant and machinery, with the rest for other properties, stock and vehicles.
29 staff moved over as part of the demolition businesses but 149 were made redundant.
Advertisement
As previously reported by Rothbiz, CF Booth had £46m debts when it entered administration.
The business experienced substantial operational and financial headwinds, including sharp rises in energy costs and pronounced volatility in copper prices.
One of the group's largest debt was with IGF, which only provided a £20m asset-based lending facility in 2025. The debt totalled £14.2m and administrators confirm that IGF has been repaid in full from a combination of book debt collections and the sale of business proceeds.
£1.24m remained outstanding to HMRC in outstanding VAT, PAYE and National Insurance Contributions with Interpath expecting that they should receive a dividend.
£30.6m was owed to unsecured creditors. Administrators say: "Based on current estimates, we anticipate that unsecured creditors should receive a dividend. We have yet to determine the amount of this, but we will do so when we have completed the realisation of assets and payment of associated costs.
"It is intended that the Company will be placed into creditors' voluntary liquidation in order to make a distribution to the unsecured creditors prior to the end date of the administration, which is 15 January 2027."
Unsecured creditors in administration are suppliers, customers, or contractors without security for their debt, ranking at the bottom of the repayment priority list.
The unsecured creditors list released previously included £3.5m - Employees, £14.3m - Intercompany creditors and another £2.2m - Other HMRC and HSE Fines & Penalties. Company trade creditors were listed with the total owed at £8.2m.
Administrators add that they are "reviewing the affairs of the Company to find out if there are any actions which can be taken against third parties to increase recoveries for creditors.
"We have considered matters raised by creditors, reviewed transactions involving connected parties, assessed the Company's governance and record-keeping practices, analysed information relating to asset disposals and creditor treatment, and investigated matters requiring further enquiry in accordance with our statutory obligations.
"Significant time has also been spent reviewing and assessing information received from third parties, including creditor representations, professional advisers and government agencies, together with preparing and submitting our report on the conduct of the directors to the Insolvency Service, which is confidential."
Since concluding the deal, Ron Hull moved quickly to take on the fully operational rail siding which has enabled the provider of a range of metal recovery and waste recycling services to offer decommissioned rail stack handling and the sale and loading of scrap metal via rail.
Buildings on the site, considered to be in poor condition and surplus to requirements, were earmarked for demolition and planning permission was secured to demolish the stands and structures at Millmoor. Work started on the historic football stadium last month.
Ron Hull website
Images: Google Maps / RUFC
