Renewables installer EcoLogicLiving has become the latest company in the solar supply chain to file for administration, resulting in the loss of a number of jobs.

The firm was placed into receivership last week, however Solar Power Portal understands its customer database has been acquired by a separate entity named Logic Group, also operating out of Cumbria. All enquiries are being diverted, with EcoLogicLiving’s offices now vacant.

Financial advisory firm ArmstrongWatson has been appointed as the Cumbria-based firm’s administrators.

ArmstrongWatson confirmed to Solar Power Portal that a total of 24 full-time employees were made redundant last week, and also said EcoLogicLiving and Logic Group are two “completely unrelated” entities.

The last set of EcoLogicLiving’s accounts filed with Companies House show that the firm had increased its losses throughout the 2014/15 financial year. Its P&L showed a £1.2 million deficit for the year ended 31 March 2015, principally down to a large increase in the amount owed to creditors.

Nevertheless, the company was expected to “generate positive cashflow” over the last financial year taking into account “reasonable expected changes in trade”. The government’s reset of the feed-in tariff, which has resulted in an 80% decline in small-scale renewable deployment year-on-year, has left many businesses in trouble.

Three years ago EcoLogic received a £500,000 investment from the North West Fund for Energy and Environmental (NWFEE) which it said at the time would be used to expand the business into new areas of the UK.

NWFEE said it was “disappointed” by news of EcoLogic’s receivership and too attributed the loss to “significant changes” to the RHI and feed-in tariff.

Late last month installation business Solarlec collapsed prompting the loss of as many as 170 jobs, adding to a growing tally of redundancies in the sector since the government’s feed-in tariff reset.

 

This story has been amended from its original version to include commentary from ArmstrongWatson.