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More than 50 people have lost their jobs after a supplier of Land Rover spare parts went into administration.

Bearmach, based at Pantglas Industrial Estate, Bedwas, entered administration on September 6.

A statement from joint administers Chris Marsden and Lee Causer, from BDO LLP, said the company suffered “working capital issues”.

A total of 51 people have been made redundant, while 18 staff have been kept on to wind down operations of the 64-year-old firm.

Caerphilly Member of Parliament Wayne David said: “I am extremely disappointed at this bad news.

“Bearmach weathered the storm of Covid, but the announcement that they are going into administration is really bad news for the area. Bearmach is a well-established company and there needs to be a huge effort to help the workforce find alternative employment quickly. I will do whatever I can to help.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the joint administrators said: “Having suffered sustained working capital issues in the aftermath of the pandemic, Bearmach Limited was no longer viable as a going concern and was therefore placed into administration resulting in 51 redundancies.

“The joint administrators have retained 18 employees to assist us wind down operations in an orderly manner, and will be taking all necessary steps to maximise recoveries for creditors in accordance with our legal duties.”

Bearmach – a 64-year-old company

Bearmach started life in 1958 in an office in London by Karabet Torosyan.

By 1962, the company had grown and moved to bigger premises at Southpark Road, Wimbledon – a large, two-storey building with 278 square m of floor space for offices, warehouse and packing departments.

Following several other moves throughout the decades to accomodate growth, the company eventually found its way to Bedwas in 2002.

In 2005, Bearmach was named Welsh Exporter of the Year in the Business Awards for Wales and in 2007 was bought by Grove Industries.

In 2016 the company opened an office in China and in 2018 celebrated its 60th anniversary with a celebratory event at Caerphilly Castle. At the time it reported having more than 150 members of staff.

According to the latest set of accounts filed at Companies House for the year ending 2020, the company had an average monthly staff number of 130 – down from 140 in 2019.

It reported a turnover of £31.7 million and a loss of £700,000. This compared to 2019 when it had a £37.2m turnover and a profit of £113,000.

In those documents, auditors Grant Thornton drew attention to uncertainties surrounding the impact of Covid and Brexit – although it agreed with the opinion of directors that the company would be able to continue as a going concern. This opinion was approved by the board in September 2021.

According to these same documents, the company was undergoing a restructure during 2021 with redundancies made and a concentration on more profitable areas of the business.