Scores of workers at an office water cooler company are facing the axe after administrators “mothballed” their company.

Powwow, which has its headquarters on the Oxford Business Park, Cowley, was taken into administration by financial recovery firm Deloitte on Thursday evening with about 50 staff told the bad news after turning up for work this<<fri>> morning.

And rather than keeping it operating as a going concern, the joint administrators, John Reid and Brian Milne, decided to shut it down immediately.

Mr Reid said: “The company has been suffering severe cash flow problems.

“We intend to mothball the business whilst seeking a purchaser for the business and assets. Unfortunately the majority of the staff will be made redundant whilst we consider the options for the business.”

Workers were told of the decision at a meeting yesterday morning and said the company’s systems had been shut down.

One said: “The worst part is we have been working for nothing for the last month as we have not been paid. I feel very angry and let down.”

The company has nine distribution centres across the UK and two production sites at Chesham in Buckinghamshire and Fillongley in the West Midlands.

It has about 50,000 customers nationally and employs a total of 360 staff.

Powwow was originally owned by food giant Nestle and was set up in 2003. In February 2009 it was bought out by a new firm, the Lomond Hills Water Company.