An historic glassware firm in the Midlands region of the UK is being sold for the second time in 18 months, casting doubt over the future of more than 200 workers.
According to a recent report, Briti…
An historic glassware firm in the Midlands region of the UK is being sold for the second time in 18 months, casting doubt over the future of more than 200 workers. According to a recent report, British glassworks Royal Brierley Crystal, based in Brierley Hill, has hit cashflow problems and was unable to pay its 207-strong workforce recently. The historic firm, which was sold for an undisclosed sum in October 1998 to Epsom Activities, announced in February that it would be moving to a purpose-built UK 5.5 million factory next to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. The sale of the firm was announced recently by managing director Graham Webster-Gardiner. He said the company had been experiencing financial problems, but despite being unable to pay its employees, all but six of the staff had turned up for work. Webster-Gardiner said a potential buyer had already expressed an interest in the company. He said that the firm had taken professional advice and had concluded that the best way forward was to negotiate the sale of the business or company and that process was now underway. The report added that, before its sale in 1998, the firm had been running at a loss for some time.