Hundreds of members of pension fund members at a collapsed West Midland firm can expect a share of a £3 million-plus pay-out.

Administrators handling the crash last year of car parts supplier Bloxwich Engineering have revealed the claim from the pension scheme totalled £13.9 million.

The fund trustees can look forward to 22p in the pound or just over £3 million, depending on liabilities – by far the biggest claim on the Walsall firm’s assets.

But the pension issue has angered trade creditor Reg Rowe, who says he is still owed £48,000 from an overall debt of £60,000 for sub-contract machine work for Bloxwich Automotive, once part of the Bloxwich Engineering empire.

Mr Rowe, consultant to PDR Turned Parts Ltd – a tiny Birmingham firm which supplied components to Bloxwich for 15 years – said: “I cannot understand why a small company like mine has to suffer because of this pension claim.

“I have had £12,000 of my debt and that has helped me get machinery to carry on my business. But I am still owed £48,000 and been told I will get 4p in the pound if I am lucky. I had to remortgage my machines to raise £20,000 and still do not know when I am going to see any of the money I am owed. I’ve had the stuffing knocked out of me.”

Bloxwich Engineering, whose customers included Land Rover and LDV, went bust in November after racking up a huge pension deficit. New owners Sonas Automotive, a supplier of body, engine and trim components, bought the firm and stunned the workforce by announcing the closure of the site at Bloxwich with the transfer of some workers to Tyseley.

Mr Rowe says he has continued to supply work for Sonas, earning him £20,000 a month – but received no indication from administrators Grant Thornton when his claim for £48,000 will be settled.

Neil Tombs, administrator with Grant Thornton, said: “We are in the process of agreeing the pension scheme claim, which is massive – £13.9 million out of £14.8 million for unsecured creditors. The pension scheme will get paid a dividend and it will go to the trustees. The outcome of Bloxwich Automotive has only ever been around 4p in the pound, and Mr Rowe can expect to receive 4p in the pound.”

The Bloxwich group was one of the West Midlands’ oldest car parts suppliers, founded in 1915 as Bloxwich Lock and Stamping and employing 5,000 people in its heyday.