Joint administrators Tom Jack, Roy Bailey and Alan Bloom of Ernst & Young were appointed on 2 February, temporarily laying off 108 staff.

Production at the Ellesmere Port-based recycled newsprint mill has since ceased and 271 employees have been temporarily laid off.

Jack said: "We are extremely grateful for the support and commitment the employees have given during this time of uncertainty.

"We are holding discussions with a number of potential interested parties and are continuing to fulfil customer orders from stock while the sale of the business process continues."

The mill employs a total of 300 staff and has a production capacity of 220,000 tonnes per year.

A spokeswoman for Ernst & Young said it was too early to know how long the staff would be laid off. She said the mill had "traded at a loss for some time" and said "the business could no longer meet its debts as they fell due".

Peter Ellis, Unite national officer, said the site and parent company AbitibiBowater had been in difficulty for some time.
In April 2009, US newsprint manufacturer AbitibiBowater filed for creditor protection after lenders refused a proposed debt restructuring plan.

The company announced that it and its US and Canadian subsidiaries had filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and the Canadian equivalent.

BPCL subsidiaries Cheshire Recycling and Abitibi-Consolidated Europe SA are not affected by BPCL's fall into administration.