A finance company in Portishead has fallen into administration.
Castle Business Finance, on Harbour Road, has appointed Alastair Massey and Paul Allen of business advisory firm FRP as joint administrators.
The company, which provides invoice and trade finance to small and medium-sized businesses, fell into administration after “failing to meet its liabilities”, administrators said.
The business employed 13 people and was run by managing director Jeremy Combes.
“Core staff” have remained within the company, which is currently trading as normal, according to administrators.
FRP is now looking for a buyer for the firm.
Alastair Massey, partner at FRP, said: “Castle Business Finance has a strong client book, provides essential alternative finance to SMEs across the region and will remain open for business while we search for a buyer to take the company forward.
“Any interested parties should come forward as soon as possible.”
Castle Business Finance was founded in 2016 by a team of “veteran SME lenders”, according to its website.
It is not yet clear if any staff have been made redundant.
The news comes as a raft of major employers in Bristol confirm they are making redundancies following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the UK lockdown in March.
Thousands of UK workers are set to lose their jobs this year as companies are forced to make cut backs to save money.
Giants including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Nisbets and Ovo, which all have a base in Bristol, are among UK businesses reducing the size of their workforce.
The TUC has warned today (July 6) there is a high risk of mass unemployment in the South West if the region does not have a recovery plan centred on protecting and creating jobs, backed by major investment.
Workers who have required support from the job retention scheme and self-employed income support scheme are most likely to face unemployment in the months ahead, according to the TUC.
TUC analysis estimates more than 69,000 workers in Bristol are currently being supported by these schemes.
The report calls for the formation of a regional recovery panel with representation from unions, employers, Job Centre Plus, relevant civic partners and local and regional government.
Nigel Costley, TUC regional secretary said: “People are very worried about their jobs. Many have been laid off already.
"And just last week, our unions received dozens of redundancy notifications – with many more expected to come. This situation is only going to get worse unless something is done now.
“If we allow mass unemployment to take hold, our economy will be smaller, and the recovery, much slower.
“That’s why investing in good jobs is at the heart of our recovery plan for the South West."
