Willenhall-based WH Marren, a 110-year-old waste management and scrap metal business, called in administrators from KPMG on 18 July, with 45 staff made redundant and the remaining seven kept on while the business is wound down.

The company said it had experienced cash-flow issues due to “significant” HMRC liabilities, which arose after an investigation into “financial irregularities” in the supply chains in which WH Marren had traded.

The company was founded in 1906; it specialised in the processing of metals, with an emphasis on materials recycling.