A 72-year-old Bristol company has collapsed into administration, with the majority of its 33 staff being made redundant.
Manufacturer PJ Hare has blamed Brexit for its financial difficulties as well as a lack of orders and challenging market conditions, administrators told Business Live.
Graham Randall and Mark Roach of business advisory firm Quantuma will oversee the administration process.
“In recent times, the company has suffered from customers delaying their orders, particularly those in the automotive sector," said Mr Randall.
“This, coupled with wider concerns over delays to Brexit has led to a collapse in the order book during 2019 to an unsustainable level.”
The administrators have been looking for a buyer for the company for “a number of weeks” but said that “regrettably” no acceptable offers were received.
“Following our appointment as administrators on 1 July 2019, we have taken the difficult decision to make most of the 33 staff members redundant,” Mr Randall said.
Mr Roach added: “Hare Press is a strong brand in the machinery manufacturing sector, and we would still encourage anybody interested in the whole or parts of the business to contact us."
The firm, which produces hydraulic equipment for the automotive sector, was founded in 1947 by Pat Hare - a pioneer in the development of high-speed hydraulic presses for production press work.
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