KEIGHLEY company BR Thornton Ltd, which makes school furniture at Prospect Works in Ingrow, has gone into administration.

Parker Andrews of Norwich were appointed administrators earlier this month after HMRC petitioned to wind up the company.

BR Thornton was set up in 2018 after its 49-year-old parent company British Thornton went into administration. The management buy-out deal saved the company’s entire workforce of 150.

It is understood that at the time of its collapse BR Thornton Ltd employed only around 50 people at its premises off South Street, with at least half made redundant this month.

Parker Andrews were not available for comment as the Keighley News went to press this week.

British Thornton was a leading manufacturer of furniture for education and science laboratories, with clients including schools, colleges, universities and industrial research establishments.

In the run-up to its collapse in 2018 it struggled to compete in a competitive market. The company was refinanced on more than one occasion and went through a change in ownership and management.