Metalrax sale saves 387 jobs

Almost 400 jobs have been saved after Metalrax, the Midlands-based maker of bakeware and kitchen accessories, was sold out of administration to the engineering group Bowman Birmingham.

Metalrax suspended its Aim-listed shares this morning as it prepared to enter administration. Later in the day the administrator, KPMG, sold the business and assets in a deal that secures all 387 jobs.

Metalrax said its consumer durables division had struggled after the loss of a major contract in July last year and the business was currently trading "materially below expectations".

Will Wright, the joint administrator from KPMG, said: "The group has experienced difficult trading conditions for some time, primarily within their consumer durables division. While the group's management team has divested in recent years to focus upon niche areas, trading in this division has led to a significant drain on the group's financial situation."

The business will trade as Arc Specialist Engineering and is backed by private investors who have committed to invest in the company.