A NORTH-EAST building and plumbing merchant which fell into administration has been bought, saving 20 jobs.

A Thompson and Sons, in Sunderland, and its sister company, TAPS Plumbing and Heating, have been taken on by Grafton Merchanting GB Ltd.

About 80 workers were made redundant at Thompsons after it went into administration earlier this month following poor trading results, with 20 members of staff retained to help find a buyer.

Administrators KPMG say those 20 workers will transfer to Grafton, and hoped a number of the 80 staff released could be re-employed by the firm.

The deal with Grafton includes Thompson's building centres in Sunderland, Durham, Newcastle and Gateshead and a site in South Shields, as well as its TAPS store in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street and branches within its builders' merchants.

It said Thompson sites would become part of Grafton's Buildbase division.

Mark Kelly, Grafton chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to turnaround a long-standing business which once stood proud in the local community.

“It has been a challenging period for Thompson, but our intention is to restore and enhance the business to the benefit of all involved.

“We will be looking to recruit former Thompson employees and rebuild teams, and will be investing heavily to rejuvenate and improve branches.

“Core suppliers will be reengaged and shelves will be restocked over the next few weeks so that we can re-instate the high levels of service and goods that Thompson’s has long been known for.

“Existing customer accounts will also be transferred so we can quickly support those who have had to look further afield for their building and plumbing materials.”