Troubled quarry tile company sold

It is not known if the company will continue producing tiles

A Wrexham tile factory which shut down after being placed in administrative receivership has been sold.

A total of 68 staff and about 20 agency workers were laid off at Dennis Ruabon last week.

Administrative receivers at consultants Kroll and Co said the assets had been required by Ruabon Sales Ltd in a sale.

However, the Unite union said it was "in the dark" about the sale, and local MP Martyn Jones said he was concerned at a "lack of transparency".

Unite said workers had no warning before being sent home by the firm, which calls itself the UK's last maker of clay quarry tiles.

It's simply not fair to leave people who have worked for this company stranded for this period of time Martyn Jones MP

Wrexham Council has already offered help to the workers to try to help them find alternative employment.

The company did not comment publicly, but Paul Pearson, a senior manager, has said the closure came just as it was trying to finalise a restructuring package to keep the business going.

He said it "ran out of time" and the bank called in receivers.

Joint administrative receivers Anne O'Keefe and Simon Wilson, partners at Kroll's Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Group, have now announced that "the sale of the assets of Dennis Ruabon was completed on 1 February 2008".

'In the dark'

It is unclear whether the company will continue trading as a tile manufacturer, raising concerns over the future of the workers.

Peter Hughes, regional officer with Unite, said they had been unable to contact the new owners.

He added: "We don't know anything. We're trying to find out what's going on, but at this stage we're completely in the dark."

He said the union was anxious to ensure its members would be re-engaged by the new owners.

Clwyd South MP Martyn Jones said: "It's simply not fair to leave people who have worked for this company stranded for this period of time. What on earth is going on?

"The old owners of this company owe their loyal staff an explanation."

Mr Jones said the sale could be good news for the workers, but said the future of the factory had to "take into account the needs of the local community".