1,000 jobs lost at Auto Windscreens

Deloitte announced the closure of the Chesterfield-based group and made 1,042 staff redundant after failing to get an offer for the business as a whole.

The firm had hoped to keep the UK's second largest windscreen and repair business running as a going concern while it sought a buyer after its collapse earlier this month.

The majority of staff had been sent home after the company went into administration on St Valentine's day, but the company was not officially closed until today when all workers were laid off.

Despite 90 approaches, administrators were unable to find a buyer and efforts to raise financing also failed.

Chris Farrington, joint liquidator and partner at Deloitte, said: "We approached the major customers to seek urgent funding, but unfortunately none of these customers were able to assist."

Deloitte sold some of Auto Windscreen's assets including the freehold properties and 19 of the leasehold properties.

Auto Windscreens ran 68 fitting centres, 550 mobile units, a distribution centre in Birmingham and a call centre.

The company, which had an annual turnover of about 63 million, had been undergoing a recovery programme, but ran into trouble after delays in bringing in IT systems, coupled with lower-than-expected revenues in late of 2010, which led to cashflow pressures.

The group held talks with a number of parties to secure funding, but was dealt a final blow when one of its major customers ended its contract and it received a winding-up petition from a large creditor