Major engineering company to close Leyland site

Torotrak, which has another site in Silverstone, launched a consultation process in January of this year where it discussed plans to consolidate its engineering resources in a bid to reduce its costs.

No timeline regarding the closure has yet been given but as many as 57 people at the Leyland site may be affected.

In a statement released today Torotrak said: "On 30 January 2017, the Board announced a strategic refocus of the Group, which included taking steps to consolidate the Group's engineering resources and reduce the ongoing cash operating costs.

"Following a period of employee consultation, the Board has decided to close the Leyland site and make all staff working at that site redundant. The Board continues to focus on realising value from Torotrak's technology portfolio and other assets."

The Company's Auditors are in the process of completing their audit of the Financial Statements for the Company and the Group for the year ended 31 March 2017.

Whilst the audited net assets of the Company as at 31 March 2017 are not yet available, the Board believes that on completion of the audit, the net assets of the Company will fall below half of the value of the called-up share capital.

Under Section 656 of the Companies Act 2006 (Section 656), when a board becomes aware (or should have been aware) that the net assets of a public company are half or less than the value of its called-up share capital, the directors are required, within 28 days, to call a general meeting of the company for the purpose of considering whether any, and if so what, steps should be taken to deal with the situation.

Consequently, the Board has issued a notice to hold a General Meeting of the Company on May 31 at its Leyland headquarters.