PICKFORDS – the 400-year-old removal company at the heart of a Channel 5 documentary series – has been bought out of administration.

The firm was immediately bought back by directors Yogesh Mehta and Timothy Romer under a new shell company called Pickfords Move Management in a move that preserves 900 jobs.

The company traces its roots back to the 17th century when the Pickfords of Adlington, Lancashire, entered the wagon trade.