Garlands Call Centres has gone into administration with the loss of 1,100 jobs in the North-east of England.

Administrators from Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) have been appointed, with PWC director Nick Reed saying that directors could not see a way forward for the business after "a significant deterioration in contract work and high infrastructure costs."

The company, whose client rollcall included Vodafone, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, has centres in Hartlepool, Middlesborough and South Shields and had previously announced plans to open another centre in South Africa.

Chief Executive Chey Garland, a former Veuve Cliquot Business Woman of the Year, yesterday relayed the news to staff that the company would be closing it doors at 3pm over the PA system, according to the BBC. She said she was "devastated" by what had happened. The firm had taken 30 years to grow, she added, and 18 months of recession to kill.