MTE Heat Treatment sold out of administration, saving 30+ jobs
What's the deal? Huddersfield-based MTE Heat Treatment has been sold out of administration to Metal Treatment and Engineering, a subsidiary of Time To Act. The deal preserves more than 30 jobs and ensures service continuity for customers.
RSM's Lee Lockwood and Gareth Harris served as joint administrators, with a broader RSM team and lawyers from Addleshaw Goddard completing a swift asset transfer.
MTE is a precision engineering firm offering heat treatment, induction hardening, gear cutting, and surface treatments from a 30,000-square-foot facility at Spa Fields Industrial Estate in Slaithwaite.
Why now? MTE's finances had been under pressure for years. Turnover fell 21% to £2.8M in 2025, down from £3.6M the year before. Mounting debt from the Covid-19 pandemic and the aftermath of a historic fire forced the company into administration.
What could go wrong? Businesses bought out of administration often face integration challenges and residual reputational risk. Customers and suppliers may need reassurance that operations will remain stable under new ownership. The broader manufacturing slowdown that contributed to MTE's revenue decline hasn't gone away either.
The signal: This deal reflects a familiar pattern in UK manufacturing — pandemic-era debt catching up with small and mid-sized firms already squeezed by falling demand. The rapid turnaround from administration to sale suggests there's still buyer appetite for specialist engineering capabilities, even when the underlying business has struggled. For firms like Time To Act, distressed acquisitions offer a way to pick up established operations, skilled workforces, and customer bases at a discount.
"We are pleased to have secured a sale of MTE Heat Treatment, preserving employment for over 30 staff and providing a platform for the business to continue under new ownership," said Lee Lockwood of RSM.
Read more: consultancy.uk
