Kidderminster-based parts supplier GP Automotive has gone into administration after 33 years.

All 50 staff are expected to lose their jobs.

American parts maker Gates, for whom GPA had been its first UK supplier, withdrew its contract on July 3 after a 17-year link.

The company said GPA was not keeping up payments and could not provide assurances for the future. Manchester-based administrators MCR were called in on July 11.

Gates transferred GPA’s contract to FPS, the national parts distributor owned by dealer group Lookers.

Other brands distributed by GPA included Brembo, SKF, Farécla, Sachs and Denso.

In November 2006, it launched an online parts catalogue based on the MAM Autopart platform, which brought a marked increase in electronic ordering from 2% to 21% in its first year.