Insider Media Limited

A Sutton Coldfield-based company has been forced to close after incurring large debts to HM Revenue and Customs, Insider has been told.

Manufacturer Doors and Hardware called in administrators from business adviser PKF, who said the chances of finding a buyer for the business were "eroding away".

The company's 44 employees have all been made redundant.

Doors and Hardware traded from a one-acre manufacturing site at Minworth, Sutton Coldfield.

The company specialises in the manufacture, supply and installation of metal doorsets and glazed steel entrance systems under the Taskmaster brand name.

Jonathan Newell and James Money, from advisory firm PKF's Manchester and London offices respectively, were called in as administrators to the company on 4 August.

Richard Tonks, senior manger at PKF's Birmingham office, told Insider the company had collapsed with "large debts to the Crown".

He said: "The company owed money on its VAT and PAYE payments, which had accumulated over a number of months. As the debts grew, HMRC lodged a petition requesting that the company be wound up."

All of the company's 44 members of staff were made redundant on the appointment of the administrators, said Tonks.

He said PKF was still seeking a buyer for Doors and Hardware and its assets, but admitted the chances of securing a sale were "eroding away".

"We are very much on the lookout for a buyer – but we appreciate that this is a difficult task as the company's customers will find alternative suppliers while Doors and Hardware is not in business," he said.

"We are hoping to sell in due course, but know that our chances are eroding away as time goes on."

Honks added that details regarding the company's debtors and creditors would be released through its administrators' report which will be published later this year.

Doors and Hardware's Taskmaster branded entrances and doorframes were used in major construction projects including British Airways' headquarters in Harmondsworth and the new terminal in Dublin Airport. The company has been trading since 1983.