Ploughcroft Building Services Ltd has entered administration and been sold to a new company, with the loss of the entire workforce.

Former owner Chris Hopkins, who secured £120,000 of funding for the company on Dragons' Den last year, has successfully purchased the company’s assets and will continue to trade under the newly-formed Ploughcroft Ltd.

The company, which installed solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, and other energy efficiency measures, blamed its financial difficulties on the series of cuts to the feed-in tariff subsidies for solar power, which it said led to many of its customers defaulting on payments.

With further reduced orders in August, attributed to poor weather conditions, Hopkins said he was left with ‘no alternative’ but to put the company into administration and make 15 staff redundant.

The new company will operate by sub-contracting solar installers and intends to set up a customer helpline to assist with existing customer warranties for the new business.