Willenhall businessman calls for £260,000 compensation for railway works disruption

Russell Eynon, the owner of Arx Apparel and PPE, has spoken out about a ‘two-year-battle’ with Kier Transportation, the company delivering the new railway station in Willenhall.

The 52-year-old accountant took on the business in 2021, saying it had a good reputation in the local community for its charity work.

But two years later a battle commenced with Kier Transportation, which Russell claims has left the business on its knees and him insolvent.

Arx Apparel and PPE is located on Bilston Street, directly north of the railway station development being delivered by Kier and Transport for West Midlands.

Russell said officers from Buckingham Group, the original contractor delivering the project, had promised compensation after part of his business site had to be taken away to deliver the scheme.

But before anything could be drawn up in writing, the company went bust in early 2023.

Russell said he couldn’t get a response from anybody about the compensation payment, meanwhile suppliers were chasing him for outstanding invoices.

Russell and Kier eventually agreed on some level of compensation for certain time periods, which Russell says ‘went out as soon as it came in’.

He said: “We were into November 2023, we were using our working capital more than ever and we were going to run out at the end of the year. I’ve either got to pay suppliers to keep them on side or pay staff. I’m always going to pay staff.

“I didn’t have enough money to pay suppliers. That’s when it really had an impact. I lost their support.”

More than two-thirds of the staff at Arx Apparel and PPE were let go in a bid to try and keep the company afloat.

Russell’s mum, who is in her 80s, had to join the work force on a voluntary basis.

He said: “We had plant machinery in front of the store and they’d taken about a third of the building down. From the road, people think we’re closed. The orders start to drop.

“Orders that did come in, we couldn’t fulfil them because we lost the supplier support.

“From that point on we just kept trying to keep the businesses going but we were losing orders, national contracts, that’s tens of thousands. Our reputation has gone.

“It’s just been a slow and painful death, we’ve tried to minimise as many costs as we can to try and keep it going. In May 2024, I lost my marbles, I started to struggle health wise.

“By October, I didn’t think I’d find a way. I was going to go on the lines, I thought ‘this is closure’.

“I thought I’ll just go on the lines and it’ll all come around, you know, someone has killed himself on the railway and he was owed money by Kier. It would be there forever then.

“They were dark days. I didn’t think I was ever going to get through this.”

Russell eventually had no choice but to declare himself insolvent due to the cash flow problems, as monthly profit in 2025 has been less than a quarter of that in 2023.

This year he had to put Arx Apparel and his other business, Breakwells Paints in Leamore, into liquidation.

He said: “Can it get any worse? I don’t know. Luckily my other half isn’t leaving me. My son has seen me change.

“We never had a lavish lifestyle but if he needed anything I could get it. Now it’s different. I am trying to protect my family as much as I can but I’ve changed as a person.

“If I miss three payments on the insolvency I will have to declare myself bankrupt and then lose everything.”

Russell is now calling on Kier for financial compensation of £260,720.

It covers loss of margin, rent on the building he hasn’t been able to use, cost of liquidation, loans and personal insolvency debt, with the compensation he has received to date taken from the total figure.

Russell said: “All that money is just to clear my debts. There’s no profit on that. It’s so I can restore the businesses reputation.

“I was paying the wages out of credit cards, which are maxed-out. I can’t get any credit, there’s nothing. I’ve got nothing. That’s quite sad really. I dread the day when I wake up.”

A spokesperson for TfWM said: “The new Willenhall station is an exciting development that will benefit the area for many years to come, delivering better connectivity and a wealth of new opportunities for local people and businesses.

“We do recognise the disruption that major projects like this can cause and understand the concerns Mr Eynon has raised.

“We and our contractors have been working closely with him and neighbouring businesses to address any issues they have highlighted throughout.

“Compensation has already been paid in good faith, and the amount agreed with Mr Eynon reflected his assessment of the impact on his business at the time.

“Commercial compensation would be the contractor’s responsibility, so we have passed Mr Eynon’s correspondence to them for further consideration.”

A Kier spokesperson said: “At Kier, we aim to leave a positive lasting legacy in the communities we work in.

“Since the start of this project we have been working collaboratively with local businesses including Russell Eynon and we have paid an agreed compensation amount to local building owners.”