Trelanmex in administration

Falling order books and a £3m debt pile has pushed Leicestershire-based earthmoving firm Trelanmex into administration.

Around 30 staff have been made redundant.

The £8m-a-year turnover company, which owned a substantial fleet of earthmoving and crushing equipment, handled contracts ranging from £5,000 to £3m.

Administrator Dilip Dattani of Tenon Recovery told contractjournal.com that the company was not being sold as a going concern.

"We have appointed King Sturge to do an asset disposal. It has already taken possession of a large proportion of the company's machinery," he said.

The administrator hopes to recover as much cash as possible by selling the machines in the UK and Europe.

Dattani blamed Trelanmex's demise on three factors:

• The general economic climate
• The company's high level of gearing. Its total debt is in excess of £3m, following a buyout of the firm around two years ago.
• A shrinking order book, which meant the company's workload was unsustainable given the level of overheads it was carrying.