America's oldest gunmaker Remington files for bankruptcy after 200 years in business

After more than 200 years in business, America’s oldest gunmaker has filed for bankruptcy.

Remington Outdoor Company‘s chief financial officer, Stephen Jackson, said the company’s sales had fallen significantly in the last year, in court papers filed over the weekend.

The announcement comes amid mounting pressure for greater gun control following the Florida school shooting in February, and just one day after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in anti-gun protests in cities across America and the world.

Founded in 1816, Remington is one of America’s largest gunmakers and owns some of the world’s best-known firearms brands, including Marlin and Bushmaster.

But its reputation was damaged after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, when Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 style rifle to kill 20 children and six staff members.

Within months of the murders, Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that owns Remington, tried unsuccessfully to sell the company, which is facing legal action from the families of the victims.

Katie-Mesner Hage, an attorney representing some of those families in a lawsuit against the firm, said in a prepared statement that she did not expect the gunmaker’s bankruptcy would affect their case.

Remington has also faced accusations that several of its models – including its signature Model 700 rifle – contained a design defect that allowed them to fire without the trigger being pulled.

Major US companies and retailers have also taken some steps to restrict firearm sales.

Citigroup last week announced that it will require new retail-sector clients to sell firearms only to customers who pass background checks and to bar sales of high-capacity magazines.

Citi also said it was restricting sales for buyers under 21, a move adopted by other large retailers, while Kroger’s superstore chain Fred Meyer said it will stop selling firearms entirely.

Along with many other gunmakers in the US, Remington has also suffered from falling sales in the last year as fears of gun law reform have faded with the election of Donald Trump as President. The Republican leader was endorsed by the National Rifle Association.

The plan to file for bankruptcy was first announced last month, when the company said it would transfer control of the company to creditors in a deal to reduce its $950m (£670m) debt.

Remington filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The bankruptcy could be completed by early May.

Agencies contributed to this report