SEVENTEEN staff have been made redundant at a Winkleigh manufacturing plant after its owners went into administration.

Financial difficulties following a downturn in sales in the recession have been blamed for the problems at The Boughton Group (Reynolds Boughton Limited and Reynolds Boughton (Devon) Limited) which manufactures waste handling equipment, skip and hook loaders.

The company, which had a typical annual turnover of £7-million, employed 70 people from sites in Winkleigh and Barton-under-Needwood in Staffordshire.

Seventeen of the 33 people employed at Winkleigh were made redundant this week and more could follow if a buyer cannot be found for the group. While this process is taking place the company is continuing to trade.

Graham Bushby and Guy Mander, partners at Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP have been appointed joint administrators to the Boughton Group.

Graham Bushby said that a corporate voluntary arrangement (CVA) was proposed by the group with the majority support of its suppliers, however this was rejected by Her Majesty's Tax Office.

'Having an established reputation for quality, proprietary products and a strong order book, the Boughton Group is an attractive proposition for interested buyers,' he said.

'Unfortunately the administration was a necessary step after the rejection of the CVA and although we are hopeful for a sale of the business we envisaged that there would be some job losses.'

The group is being marketed for sale and interested parties can register their interest with Mr Bushby on 0121 214 3100.