The Newcastle and Midlands-based Nissan and Ford supplier Vickers Pressings Tolwood Automotive, has been placed in administration.

Joint administrator Richard Fleming, at KPMG’s Leeds office, said: "VPTA has been operating in a very challenging environment with very tight margins and the administration results from such business difficulties. The business is continuing to trade and we hope to sell it as a going concern." VPTA employs 111 staff at Newton Aycliffe, 195 at Newcastle, and 61 at depots in the Midlands. It makes fasteners, large pressings and vehicle assemblies.

In February this year Tolwood Automotive of Newton Aycliffe and Vickers Pressings of Newcastle, combined to form VPTA, with hopes of increasing the firms’ combined turnover from £26m to £50m by 2007. Vickers had been the subject of an MBO in late 1999 funded by Northern Venture Managers (NVM) and Barclays.