Allan Graham and Rob Croxon of KPMG were appointed to Aylesford Newsprint yesterday after the loss-making company told staff on Monday that it was in the process of appointing administrators.

Upon appointment the site was closed and 233 staff were made redundant, with 65 retained “to assist the administrators in the sale of the assets and the decommissioning of the plant”.

Unite described the decision to immediately close the site without exploring other options as “brutal and heartless”.

Unite regional officer Tim Elliott said: “Unite won’t roll over when it comes to defending its members and we will be seeking legal advice following this harsh action delivered in honeyed words by the administrators.

“We want a proper consultation period involving serious negotiations to save as many jobs as possible. The closure of this plant will be a massive blow to the Kentish economy as it is one of the biggest employers in the area.”

However, KPMG’s Graham said: “Significant overcapacity in the newsprint market, coupled with rise of digital media, has created challenging operating conditions for Aylesford Newsprint. The business has been loss-making for a number of years and was unable to be maintained as a going concern.

“We are on site and will be working closely with the Redundancy Payments Office to support the staff impacted by the administration.”

Edward Symmons has been appointed by KPMG to handle the auction of Aylesford’s assets.

Aylesford, which was owned by US private equity firm Martland Holdings, produced around 400,000 tonnes of newsprint from 500,000 tonnes of recycled waste fibre annually and its closure brings to end more than 90 years of newsprint production in Kent.

The firm’s collapse follows UPM’s decision to permanently close one of its two paper machines at its Shotton site last November, which was understood to have involved up to 130 job losses.