A LEADING Upton manufacturing company has gone into administration, with the loss of 25 jobs.

Staff arrived at the headquarters of Door Panels, in Rectory Road, on Monday morning to discover that Manchester-based company Leonard Curtis, described as specialising in ‘business rescue and recovery’, had been called in.

Two joint administrators, Neil Bennett and Michael Healy, were appointed and 25 of the 40 members of staff were laid off.

The administrators are looking to sell the business as a going concern.

Upton’s deputy mayor, Paul Bennett. said: “It’s very sad because Door Panels is one of Upton’s biggest employers, and I hope that whatever the administrators bring forward, something can be salvaged and job losses kept to a minimum.

“Twenty-five job losses is a large amount for a town the size of Upton.”

Mike Morgan, who represents Upton on Malvern Hills District Council, said: “It’s a great pity if these jobs are going to be lost.

“Things have been picking up for Upton recently, with the flood defences and shops opening in the town centre, so this is a very unfortunate step backwards.”

One Door Panels employee, who declined to be named, said: “There were rumours that this was going to happen, and last week we were told there was going to be a meeting on Monday. We had the meeting and that’s when we were told the firm was going into administration.”

The firm’s website, which says that, ‘In 25 years, Door Panels has manufactured over three million doors’, this week had no mention of the administration.