Independent bodyshop group MRM has called in administrators less than two weeks after AM revealed the struggling company was having to slash its number of sites by almost a quarter.

The collapse, which comes less than two years after the group began trading, is understood to have left a number of creditors in a precarious situation. Collision repair system manufacturer Chief Automotive, which alone is understood to be owed around £600,000, is now said to be recon-sidering its future in the UK. The company declined to comment.

At its recent height, MRM owned a total of 22 bodyshops in Scotland, the South-east, London, the Midlands and Lincolnshire. But in its first year it recorded losses of £1.6m on sales of £3.7m.

In a statement, MRM director Alistair White claims the management worked hard to avert the collapse, and “deeply regrets” its impact on its creditors and 230 staff.

Ernst and Young has been appointed as administrator. The loss of MRM comes just days after another high profile collapse – that of Steve Kenny Accident Repair Centre (p10).