Fire crews were at the factory for several hours

The Universal furniture factory in Aberdare, which imports and assembles flat pack furniture made in the far East, had a �12m annual turnover before a management buy out last November - but just a month later the fire destroyed the firms' premises.

A total of 50 of the 92 members of staff were told on Thursday that they would be losing their jobs.

Receivers are hoping that the firm's healthy order book may attract a new buyer.

Disruption

The fire, which happened in December 2002, led to a three-month disruption in production from which the firm says it never fully recovered .

There were substantial losses in the forward order book, and problems worsened when the business received less money than expected from insurers following the blaze.

The company was able to recover its position by obtaining settlement from its insurers and moving into new premises, but the final blow came when increased demands resulted in the company failing to renew it's annual insurance cover.

Managing Director Mark Symes has confirmed that 50 workers were laid off on Thursday - including himself.

He said it had been "extremely tough" trading since the fire but they were still receiving a substantial amount of orders.

The business was never able to fully recover from the disastrous fire last Christmas to its main trading premises Richard Hawes

He explained that they were unable to afford or meet increased insurance demands for October, and had spent three weeks trying to find a buyer to take over the firm with no success.

Universal Furniture has been a major employer in Aberdare for more than 20 years, and makes furniture for major retailers including Allders and Harveys.