Credit crunch closes Wades

11:20am Saturday 15th November 2008

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The credit crunch has been blamed for the closure of a long-established electrical supplies outlet in Haverfordwest.

WF Wades has had a presence in the town for more than 25 years but on November 4th staff were told the Snowdrop Lane branch was shutting up shop immediately and six jobs were to be lost.

The branch catered predominantly for the building trade and is part of a larger corporation, Hagemeyer. The Haverfordwest branch is one of six around the UK that have been closed.

Branch manager Steve Callan said the closure was a shock to staff but the branch had started to suffer from the financial downturn more than a year ago.

“It is all due to the financial climate, the staff are fabulous and always have been. Everybody is feeling the pinch and unfortunately that affects the performance of the branch.

“A big contract that the branch used to hold was lost and this is a knock-on of that. A lot of local people come in and it’s a sad story to have to tell them, no-one ever wants to close.

“Losing staff is always the thing that hurts the most. You do anything to avoid it happening.”

Mr Callan hopes some of the jobs will be transferred to a sister company, Newey and Eyre in Pembroke Dock, but that has not been finalised, although current WF Wades customers will be redirected there.