Royal carpet manufacturer Carpets International is cutting almost 300 jobs in the UK, including 74 at its Hartlepool yarn business.

The Bradford firm, which went into administrative receivership on August 20, is shedding 74 jobs at its Hartlepool factory, along with 60 jobs at its head office and 22 at its distribution centre in Hull.

The Hartlepool operation is expected to close by the end of this week.

Carpets International is also making 140 people redundant at its Donaghadee and Killinchy factories in Northern Ireland. The cuts will leave it with just over 900 staff.

The company, whose Wilton Royal carpets are fitted in Buckingham Palace, says it is the largest carpet manufacturer in the UK.

It makes more than 6,000 rolls of carpet a week for retailers nationwide under brand names including Wilton Royal, Kosset, Abingdon, Lancaster and Weavercraft. Administrative receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said changes in fashion, declining consumer spending on carpets and competition from overseas had hit the company.

PwC has carried out a review of the financial position of the business and its future trading prospects.

The study found that the company could only continue to trade if it cuts costs, PwC said.

Joint administrative receiver Roger Marsh said the administrators were disappointed that it had been necessary to announce the redundancies.

Mr Marsh said the move would allow the company's main carpet manufacturing sites at Newbridge, in South Wales, and Donaghadee to continue operating while he and his colleagues explored the potential for a sale of the business and its assets.

"We are encouraged by the initial levels of interest that have been expressed," he said.