Gordon Verhoef, the man behind London stone contractor Szerelmey, has stepped in to take a controlling share of the surviving William Anelay companies after Anelay’s attempt at a voluntary agreement with creditors collapsed.

Szerelmey was previously behind the rescue of the assets of Chichester-based Cathedral Works Organisation (now Chichester Stoneworks and Szerelmey Conservation, working out of the same premises as CWO had occupied in Chichester) and Fairhurst Ward Abbotts after the firms had gone into Administration.

Some of William Anelay’s operations were separate companies. These did not go into Administration and are what Szerelmey now has a controlling interest in. They are Lowery Roofing, Hare & Ransome Joinery, Anelay Building & Conservation North East, which has offices in York, and Anelay Building & Conservation North West, with offices in Greater Manchester.

They do not include Anelay Traditional Masonry, which became a separate limited liability partnership in 2008. The partners include William Anelay’s Chairman, Charles Anelay, and Managing Director Tony Townend.

Anelay Traditional Masonry is based at a one-acre site in Crigglestone, West Yorkshire. It continues trading as an LLP.

William Anelay, headed by the eighth generation of the Anelay family (Charles), laid claim to being the UK’s oldest stone company with a provenance dating back to 1747. It gave up attempts to reach a company voluntary arrangement with its creditors and called in Administrators from Begbies Traynor in Leeds on 8 September.

This year, William Anelay had been on television with Hairy Biker Dave Myers as he launched his solo BBC2 Hairy Builders programme, following the building restoration work of William Anelay.

William Anelay has now ceased trading and 126 staff have been made redundant.

William Anelay has undergone some changes in recent years. Tony Townend, who had been Operations Director, took over as Managing Director from Vernon Carter in 2012. Tony and Vernon had worked closely together since a management buy-out of the company in 2006 that left Charles Anelay as Chairman and Special Projects Director. Charles said: “The last few weeks have been the worst of my life.”