MORE than 50 people have lost their jobs after an estate agents with an office in Bromsgrove went into administration.

Andrew Grant has closed its offices in Worcester Street in Kidderminster, Foster Street East in Stourbridge, and high street offices in Bromsgrove, Ludlow and Worcester after suffering "substantial trading losses" over the last two years.

Administrators RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP were called in on Friday, June 19 and 54 members of staff were made redundant that day.

Only 18 jobs were saved in a pre-pack deal for the lettings and property management part of the company.

The company had undergone a restructure last year, but said the coronavirus lockdown had left it needing substantial funding to be able to continue.

Diana Frangou, of RSM administrators, said: "It is unfortunate that part of the business has been unable to continue resulting in 54 redundancies.

"We will be assisting those individuals with their claims with the redundancy payments office.

"However, following a competitive sales process, we have managed to secure the ongoing and future operations of part of the Andrew Grant business, which is a long-established local brand in the marketplace."

Andrew Grant Sales Limited has acquired the existing residential sales agreements and will continue to provide services to those customers.

It is reported that the company's founder Mr Grant, who is from Kidderminster, will be a consultant to the new business. He started the businesses in Worcester in 1971.

Mr Grant said: "I am extremely supportive of the new ownership and am confident that it is in the safest of hands. I wish them all the best."

Joanna Monro, chief operating officer, added: “We wish Andrew well with his next chapter and thank those staff who have sadly been made redundant as part of this process.

"I want to thank my colleagues amongst the management team for their hard work and dedication in completing this transaction in order to protect the legacy of the brand, and we now look forward to utilising the best technologies and people to provide an unrivalled customer experience."