Countrywide Farmers makes staff redundant after going into administration

Administrators appointed to the country and equestrian chain on March 7 have been working with the company and its suppliers. They day that although they are still open to offers from potential buyers, the redundancies have "become necessary".

Twenty jobs are to go at the company's headquarters in Evesham and 12 at its Defford distribution site.

The company, which employs approximately 735 people, operates 48 retail stores across England and Wales – including in Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Market Drayton and Whitchurch,

It sells a range of farming, equestrian, harvesting and agricultural supplies to consumers.

Joint administrator David Pike, of administrators KPMG, said: "Our strategy remains to continue to trade to realise stock, while we develop and convert interest in parts of the business and packages of stores.

"To maximise the available trading period, we have taken steps to reduce costs and regrettably, we are unable to retain the workforce in full. We remain focused on doing all we can to preserve as many jobs as possible.

"All affected staff have been informed and will be paid up to and including their last day of employment. We'd like to thank all employees for the support, service and co-operation they have provided to the company, both before and during the administration.

"There has been a strong response from the market and we encourage any further interested parties to make contact as soon as possible."

Mole Valley Farmers Ltd had been in negotiations to buy out Countrywide's retail arm, but an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the sale halted the deal.

Countrywide had been restructuring over the past year, which included the sale of its LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) division. That sale was successfully completed on March 1, with more than 60 employees transferred to DCC Flogas.