White House Builders Lumber & Supply files Ch. 11 Nashville Business Journal - by Brian Reisinger Staff Writer
A building supply company has filed for bankruptcy and plans to emerge as a smaller, more diversified construction and materials company.
White House Builders Lumber & Supply of White House in Sumner County filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday, listing about $4.2 million in liabilities to various creditors, including nearly $3.6 million in unsecured loans owed to Renasant Bank of Tupelo, Miss. Jeff Christian, owner, said he has about $7 million in assets, though some of that is due to royalties on the sale of a past business that he can’t immediately tap into.
The company, which does business as White House Home Center, has shouldered about $1.2 million in bad debt as builders in late 2007 began defaulting on payments, Christian said.
“We had really good men, that we had done business with for years, that defaulted (on payments),” he said.
Christian said builders began defaulting on payments for lumber or other supplies after banks began tightening credit — and in some cases, calling up loans early — as the financial crisis of 2008 deepened. Banks have said the national recession left many people unable to meet their obligations or with less valuable assets, threatening the balance sheets of many lenders.
Under the voluntary Chapter 11 filing, the business is allowed to attempt a reorganization or be sold, as opposed to liquidating. Christian said he has already canceled most of the company’s accounts with builders, which used to make up the bulk of the business, and he has gradually trimmed staff from 34 to seven to save on costs. In May 2009 White House began not only supplying, but building its own homes, he said. The company has also adjusted by selling surplus building and other materials, and he plans to start auctioning a variety of surplus goods.
He plans emerge as a diversified surplus warehouse with a hardware store and lumberyard. A meeting of creditors, which includes Renasant Bank and various other businesses, is scheduled for April 16.
