Nearly 400 jobs have been saved following the appointment of Will Wright and Mark Orton from KPMG as joint administrators to niche engineering group Metalrax Group, which is listed on AIM.

The administrators have sold the business and assets of the group and its subsidiaries Metalrax Engineering Support Services, Metalrax Specialist Applications and Down & Francis Industrial Products.

The buyers are a group of companies headed by Bowman Birmingham, who will trade as Arc Specialist Engineering. They have the backing of specialist private investors who have committed to an investment programme described by the administrators as 'significant'.

As part of the transaction, solvent share deals were also completed for two companies within the group, both of which were not affected by the insolvency process. These are Metalrax Housewares, which was sold to Cable Capital Partners, and Metalrax Overseas Holdings, which was also sold to Arc Specialist Engineering. In total, 387 jobs have been saved as a result of the deals.

Will Wright, KPMG partner and joint administrator, said: 'The group has experienced difficult trading conditions for some time, primarily within their consumer durables division. While the group's management team has divested in recent years to focus upon niche areas, trading in this division has led to a significant drain on the group's financial situation'.

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