A major Gloucestershire engineering firm with global operations in the oil and gas industry has entered administration, with 450 workers being told that they can no longer be paid.

Alderley PLC, whose head office and operations were at Arnolds Field Estate in Wickwar, near Wotton-under-Edge, began operations in 1989 and was the creation of Bristol businessman Tony Shepherd. Mr Shepherd, who died in 2020,  named the business after his home village, Alderley, near Wotton.

Since its creation, the family firm grew to have offices in India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Punchline-Gloucester.com understands that some 450 staff were on the payroll.

Laying claim to have worked in 90% of the world's oil and gas producing nations, the firm made equipment and provided maintenance and installation for hydrocarbon industries, specialising in hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems.

As well as exporting technology and skills and picking up a 2018 Board of Trade Award, Alderley also created manufacturing facilities in the UAE, Dubai, and Dammam, in Saudi Arabia.

Along with all Wickwar personnel, Specialists Management Services, part of the Group as SMS-Alderley since 2003 and based in Norfolk, are now jobless, as well as staff employed in Aberdeen.

A statement posted on the firm's website confirmed that a team of three Grant Thornton administrators were overseeing the "affairs, business and property of Alderley Plc (APLC), Alderley Systems Ltd (ASL) and Specialised Management Services Limited (SMS)" as of July 24.

Furthermore, a letter from the administrators told staff: "I regret to have to inform you that the company is no longer in a position to make payments to you for services rendered by you. As a result, you should regard your contract of employment with the company as terminated with immediate effect."

It also advised former staff to complete the Redundancy Payments Service form RP1 online at gov.uk/claim-redundancy, as per the Employment Rights Act, 1996.

The letter added: "Your claim for pay in lieu of notice is effectively a claim for breach of contract as circumstances prevented you from working your notice period with the company. You should do everything you can to reduce any loss you may suffer. If you do not find a new job immediately, you should register as unemployed and claim any benefits you are entitled to."

In contrast to today's news, the firm's most recent filed accounts, from March last year, and covering business up to September 2022, suggested an optimistic outlook.

Alan Wilson, Alderley PLC chairman, told investors: "It is pleasing to report that the Group's financial performance improved significantly during the year with turnover increasing to £56m (2021 - £40.5m) an increase of 38%. Profit before tax was £0.4m, (2021 loss before tax of £2.7m) which is a remarkable turnaround from last year's loss-making outcome."

The report also indicated that order intake increased in 2022 by 104%, to £78.1m, the previous year's figure having been £38.3m. That factor, he reported, had helped significantly increase the year-end backlog to £65.6m against 2021's £35.6m and had constituted a "far stronger point to begin 2023 trading".

Mr Wilson's report also said that the Group had achieved a "promising degree of success in most respects" and had successfully cut operating costs by switching back-office support to India.

However, he also noted how Brent crude reached a price of more than $120 per barrel in March and May 2022, as the Russian embargo bit in the wake of Putin's war on Ukraine.

He added: "The situational hike in oil prices probably had minimal impact on Energy Company capital investment plans, but it did highlight that many countries lack any sort of energy security plans, with a worrying over-reliance on renewable energy. After a decade of disinterest from many Governments in developing fossil fuels, we now see renewed interest and acknowledgement that hydrocarbons must play a key energy source for many years to come. This will hopefully provide a more stable platform for growth in our core market."

Elsewhere, it is also reported that extensive land at Park Farm, near Wotton-under-Edge, had also been made part part of the Alderley PLC estate. The farmhouse, along with some 30 acres of land and gardens, are reported to be remaining with the Shepherd family, but land and property at nearby Hillesley and Tresham are believed to be tied up with the administration process; part of Alderley PLC's company classification, as listed on Endole, includes "mixed farming".

● Bristol-based commercial agents Hartnell Taylor Cook are seeking new occupants for the Wickwar headquarters of Alderley PLC, with 27 car parking spaces and 4,474 sq ft of offices, at a price guide of £1.35 per sq ft. The agent said: "The accommodation is available by way of a new effectively fully repairing and insuring lease on terms to be agreed."