Leading UK warp and weft knitter Nylatex, which supplied the fabric for England's football team for the 2006 World Cup, has gone into administration with the loss of 80 jobs. The former Courtaulds company based at Acton Road, has made all of its staff redundant after a decision to cease trading last Wednesday.

The company was originally Penn Nyla which was formed by the merger of Derby Nyla and Penn International and was part of Courtaulds International Fabrics. In 2000 Courtaulds Textiles and Penn Nyla were acquired by Sara Lee. Penn Nyla was subsequently sold to the UK Investment group Harris Watson in August 2001 and in December 2003 the company was the subject of a management buyout and subsequently changed its name to Nylatex.

Administrators RSM Tenon, confirmed to local reporters that all staff had been made redundant and said the closure was due to a significant downturn in demand during the recession, with the company’s key customers cutting back orders. This is despite an injection of more than £9 million in to the business in the past two years.

Nylatex is a vertically integrated fabric manufacturing business, incorporating warping, warp and weft knitting, dyeing, finishing through to distribution. The company is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of warp and weft knitted, stretch and non-stretch (rigid) fabrics, operating in sportswear, intimate apparel and technical textile markets. The company had an exceptional reputation in fabric innovation, service and delivery.