Insolvency experts from PwC in the driving seat at Midlands van maker after company's bid to avoid administration fails

Administrators from PwC have had to make 95% of the staff at collapsed Midlands van-maker LDV redundant due to a lack of funding.

Many of the staff being made redundant have been laid off since December, but administrators have confirmed that only 40 of about 850 staff are now going to be kept on.

Rob Hunt, Mark Hopkins and Matthew Hammond of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were appointed joint administrators of LDV Group Limited and Birmingham Pressings Limited yesterday after efforts to find a buyer failed.

Earlier, this year the company took the unusual step of announcing it had applied for administration, but would keep trying to find a white knight to come in and rescue the business, but the last ditch-efforts came to nothing.

Joint administrator Rob Hunt said: 'Due to the lack of funding it has, regrettably, been necessary to make the majority of the workforce redundant and we will retain a skeleton workforce of around 40 people to maintain the site.

'Our priority is to ensure that those employees made redundant, many of whom have been laid off since December, are assisted in processing their claims with immediate effect.'

The companies financial difficulties, led to production stopping at LDV's Drews Lane plant in December 2008 and an application to court to place the companies into administration in May 2009.

The application was withdrawn as the directors pursued a potential sale of the business to the Malaysian firm, Weststar.

But last week Weststar backed out of the proposed purchase which left the directors with little option other than to reapply for administration.

Hunt added PwC had already been approached by three interested parties and the firm would be trying to hammer out a business structure while a buyer was sought.

'Over the coming days we will review all options for the companies and seek a buyer for the business and assets.'