Kilmarnock, Scotland, February 22--Production at a historic Scottish carpet maker is to end after receivers conceded defeat yesterday in their attempts to find a buyer, according to the Guardian.
The failure to rescue Stoddard International will cost a further 179 jobs following the announcement of 266 redundancies in mid-January.
The Kilmarnock-based company, which made the red carpet on which the Queen walked down the aisle on her wedding day, was founded in 1837. The company suffered a fall in demand for Axminster carpets as customers moved towards cheaper products.
Receivers from Ernst & Young said production would be wound down at Kilmarnock with assets sold to maximise returns for Stoddard's creditors. The company aimed to fulfil customer orders from stocks. It is expected the operation will be wound down within four weeks.
The company is thought to have collapsed with debts of about £9m while it was said to be losing money at the rate of £100,000 a week.
Stoddard has sold its carpets to the Scottish parliament, embassies and palaces. It also made three carpets used in the film Titanic.
The whole workforce at Scotland's oldest carpet manufacturer has been made redundant.
All 179 workers at Kilmarnock-based Stoddard International were told they had lost their jobs with immediate effect at a meeting on Monday.
The operation went into receivership in January after losing more than £6m in 2003. It was forced to close after receivers failed to find a buyer.
A few staff will remain at the 150-year-old firm to complete orders.
The operation is expected to be wound down within four weeks customers have received their goods.
It is thought it collapsed with debts of about £9m after it was said to be losing money at the rate of £100,000 a week.
It closed a weaving factory and its headquarters in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, in the last year in a move that consolidated operations at one site in Kilmarnock.
Receiver Tom Burton of Ernst & Young was called in to try and save Stoddard but had to lay off 266 workers shortly after his arrival.
The high-profile company made the red carpet for the Queen's wedding day in 1947 and once employed more than 500 people.
It was granted the Royal Warrant in 1966 and sold its products to the Scottish Parliament, stately homes, embassies and royal palaces.
The job losses follow a period of intensive negotiations during which Mr. Burton tried to work out a viable future for the business.
However, the talks came to nothing after a previous preferred bidder withdrew its interest two weeks ago.
Mr. Burton said "no stone was left unturned" as he sought to secure a future for the company.
He said: "Despite our best efforts and the support of creditors and customers, we have been unable to find a buyer for Stoddard.
"With the business losing money week by week, it is not economic to continue trading under these circumstances and we have no option other than to wind down operations and cease manufacturing here in Kilmarnock.
"We must now focus on realising the maximum return for creditors of the business through the sale of the company's assets."
Mr. Burton said a lot of goodwill toward Stoddard remained within the community and the industry.
But he added that major economic factors, such as a chronic over-capacity in the UK carpet manufacturing sector and overseas competition, had prevented a survival plan from being put into place.
