Sportswear firm in administration

KPMG said Canterbury's expansion to football was not a success

The European arm of sportswear firm Canterbury has gone into administration with the loss of 72 jobs in the UK.

Canterbury Europe, based in Stockport, is best known for its rugby shirts, and supplies teams including the Scottish national side, Wasps and Leinster.

Administrators KPMG said the firm had been hit by tough trading and an "unsuccessful" move into other sports, including supplying Portsmouth FC.

All contracts with clubs had now been cancelled, KPMG said.

The clubs all now become unsecured creditors in relation to any money they are owed, it added.

Seeking buyers

"The European business will continue to trade under the administration whilst we try to find a buyer for the business and assets," said KPMG partner David Costley-Wood.

TEAMS SUPPLIED BY CANTERBURY Portsmouth FC Cardiff Blues RFC London Wasps RFC Leinster RFC Yorkshire Cricket Club Hampshire Cricket Club South African national rugby team

He added that the firm had also been hit by the weaker value of the pound increasing the cost of its imports from East Asia.

The firm will continue to employ 14 people while a buyer is found.

Canterbury's businesses outside Europe are unaffected, although KPMG added that the parent company, New Zealand-based Canterbury Group, was itself looking "for a potential acquirer or new investor".

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