Theme park has called in administrators

M&D’s theme park has become the largest scale commercial casualty of the Coronavirus in the area – after going into administration.

The Strathclyde Park-based attraction has shed 165 jobs in the process after contracts were terminated last Thursday (April 23).

Michelle Elliot and Stuart Robb of Leonard Curtis, have been appointed administrators.

A spokesperson for M&D’s said: “It has been a challenging few years and we have worked really hard to try to diversify and keep the business afloat.

“Like many leisure businesses, the plans we had for the 2020 season have had to be cancelled due to Covid-19.

“We explored all options to try and safeguard the business and jobs of our colleagues, many of whom are longstanding.

“However, it is with a heavy heart that we are having to make 165 employees redundant.”

The news means that many staff cannot remit payment for their April salaries and will have to apply for a capped sum from the Redundancy Payments Service.

The park had not been involved in the Goverment’s furlough scheme.

However, it emerged that North Lanarkshire Council intends to provide some support to the workers.

A council spokesperson said: “M&Ds has been a popular attraction in North Lanarkshire for many years so its closure is a significant loss to the area and the local economy.