More than 60 people have lost their jobs after a car dealership went out of business.

Trinity Motors, in Coventry Road, Hinckley, called in the administrators on Monday, January 9, after an unsuccessful bid to find a buyer.

By the end of the week, 63 redundancies had been made in the dealership side of the business, the parts department and servicing.

The company continues to employ 19 staff, including in its petrol forecourt, which it is hoped will continue to operate.

The job losses came as accountancy firm RSM Tenon released figures showing more businesses went under in the East Midlands last year than in 2010.

Trinity Motors was founded more than 40 years ago and moved to the 16-acre Coventry Road site in 1982.

It was a franchisee for Land Rover, Mazda and Hyundai and an official Ford parts distributor.

Administrator Eddie Williams, a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, in Castle Donington, said: "The business was extensively market tested before we were appointed to try to find a buyer, but that did not work.

"We tried to talk to the key stakeholders about how to keep the business going if it was possible but, regrettably, we had to make the cuts.

"We have 19 people left who we will retain as we continue to trade from the petrol forecourt and are considering the options for the remaining part of the parts business.

"The vehicles have been sent back to the manufacturers.

"It's a well-known business in the area and it is sad when these things happen but car sales are a difficult sector at the moment."

In its report, RSM Tenon said 1,390 East Midlands businesses declared themselves insolvent during 2011 – 8 per cent up on 2010.

Worst hit was the service sector, with 374 of the region's companies hitting the rocks – up 17 per cent – followed by the construction sector with 266 failures, up 6 per cent.

The results were slightly better for personal insolvencies. During 2011 more than 10,000 people in the region could not keep up with their debts – down 17 per cent from 2010.

Some 4,200 took out individual voluntary arrangements, 2,500 signed up to a debt relief order and nearly 4,000 declared themselves bankrupt.

Eddie Kerr, recovery director at RSM Tenon's Leicester office, said: "The figures clearly show that last year was another difficult one for many businesses in the East Midlands.

"The drop in personal insolvencies is positive but we must not get complacent.

"Many people were given a helping hand in 2011 when interest rates were held low. When this rate is reviewed in the future, it could have a negative impact on personal insolvencies in 2012."