ADMINISTRATORS of Winkleigh-based business Reynolds Boughton Ltd say they have received between 20 and 30 expressions of interest in the manufacturer.

The company went into administration last week, following an unsuccessful attempt to agree with a creditors' voluntary arrangement with HM Revenues and Customs.

Such an agreement would allow a viable but struggling company to repay debts over an agreed time out of future profits.

Administrator Graham Bushby, a partner at Baker Tilly, is confident that a deal to secure the future of the business could be agreed within the next two to three weeks, saying: 'We have a large amount of interest in the business.'

Founded in 1897, the business was initially involved with the forestry, transport and agricultural sectors. Over the decades the company has diversified, and been involved with waste management and taken on military contracts.

The company specialises in converting vehicles into skip lorries and hook loaders. The Winkleigh site served as the company's main assembly and fabrication centre, with the business' headquarters stationed in Staffordshire. It continues to trade while a buyer is being sought.

Upon hearing that Reynolds Broughton was in administration, Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council said: 'These jobs and the skills of the workforce are an essential part of rural manufacturing for Devon.

'To lose a niche business that has been around for a long time and has developed a low cost base because it supplies locally and uses local labour is a body blow.'

Seventeen employees in Winkleigh were made redundant along with eleven redundancies at the Staffordshire head office. Around 20 employees are still believed to be employed at the Winkleigh plant.

The latest figures show that the business made a £51,000 loss for the year ending March 2009, compared with the year before when the company made a £390,000 profit.

The directors' report that accompanied these account figures said customers were cutting back on capital expenditure as an effect of the recession. This resulted in 'markedly lower sales volumes'.

Sales fell by 20% in 2009, dropping from £8.387-million to £6.678-million.