An administrator has been appointed at Woodkirk Stone Ltd, operators of Britannia Quarries from which Woodkirk sandstone is extracted and converted into slab, walling, paving, ashlar and architectural details.

The quarry remains in production and the administrator hopes to sell the business and assets as a going concern. There are 50 people working in the quarry and its processing operation.

Mark Ranson of Horwath Clark Whitehall (Yorkshire) Llp, Leeds, the administrator, says he is speaking to a "reasonable number of potentially interested parties" and that if anyone else would like to consider making an offer they should contact him promptly (Tel: 0113 274 0404).

"I\'m encouraged by the level of interest I have received," he says. "The volume of enquiries suggests there\'s real interest out there."

He says the business had not made money in the recent past and had been involved in a legal dispute that had had a cost involved in it.

Woodkirk Stone Ltd was set up in 1999 by Eddie Hodge to take over production and processing of stone from Britannia Quarries. He has now left the company, but the operational managers remain.

When Woodkirk stone started extracting stone from the quarry again in 1999 it was after it had been shut for a year following a lock-out of employees by the landlords when they were unable to trace the directors of the operating company at the time, York Stone Products.

The quarry had been bought by Horus Ltd, a subsidiary of builders J Pullan & Sons of Beeston, Leeds, from the administrators, appointed in 1995, of the previous owners, Pawson Bros.

The lock-out in 1998 occurred shortly after the landlords had spent £2million on new machinery and buildings for the quarry and the on-site stone processing operation.

That investment included £700,000 on new Italian Gaspari Menotti gang saws and a block cutter. They were there for Eddie Hodge to get the quarry back up and running again in 1999.

Neil Pullan, speaking for Horus Ltd, says reserves at the quarry have recently been confirmed at 4.4million tonnes in areas within the initial development plan and that there are 14 years of the lease remaining.

"From our viewpoint," he says, "it is hard to imagine regular operations supplying consistent demand not producing significant profits."

Woodkirk Stone\'s most recent accounts lodged at Company\'s House, for the year ending 30 April 2003, show gross profit of £1.2million. After distribution costs of £104,000, administrative expenses of £930,000 and interest of £28,000, pre-tax profit was £160,000.