Administrators have been appointed to used car supermarket Cars 4U, based near Cardiff, which collapsed at the end of March, leaving 30 employees redundant and several customers out of pocket.

The company failed to file its accounts with Companies House on March 7 but continued to trade, finally closing its three sites on March 30. Employees arriving for work found they were locked out, and a number of recent customers have yet to receive vehicles purchased during its final weeks.

Steve Wade of administrators Begbies Traynor says: “The bank withdrew its support for the company at the end of March. Shortly afterwards the financial company supplying the facilities withdrew its support and 200 vehicles, effectively bringing the company to a close. It is likely that the sites will now be returned to the landlord. Its customers should be unaffected.”

Cars 4U began trading in 2002 under the management of Frank Gallo, a former director of Cardiff-based car supermarket Ken Thorne Car Sales Ltd, which shut without warning in the same year while more than £14m in debt.