RM , the computing company, has announced about 460 redundancies and a significant restructuring, including hiring the former education minister Lord Adonis as a non-executive, after trading failed to pick up in the second half.

The company, which makes much of its money supplying schools with computers and electronic whiteboards, has been hit hard by the ending of the Building Schools for the Future programme, which poured taxpayers' money into refurbishing schools.

The company said that it usually experienced a pick-up in trading during the second half of the year but this had failed to happen this year.