Member Article

140 jobs saved at Leeds packaging firm as administrators Deloitte find buyer

Leeds-based Constar UK, who went into administration on Valentine’s Day this year, have been bought by a London acquisitions firm, saving 140 jobs.

Constar UK, which was part of the wider ConstarGroup headquartered in the US, is a supplier of polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) containers for a variety of drinks products.

The principal customers of the business include Britvic and Cott International.The UK business is headquartered in Sherburn-in-Elmet, Leeds and has 140 employees with circa £80m of annualised turnover.

Dan Butters and Nick Edwards were appointed joint administrators of Constar International U.K. Ltd. on Friday 14 February 2014.

Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators completed the sale of the Company’s business and assets to Sherburn Acquisitions Ltd, a newly incorporated entity whose owners are affiliated with Greybull Capital LLP.

The sale ends a period of uncertainty for the employees and other key stakeholders after the Constar Group (including Constar UK) enteredUS Chapter 11 proceedings in December 2013.

Those proceedings included a US court approved sales process which culminated in a formal auction held on 6 February and a court sales order made on 10 February 2014.

Joint Administrator, Dan Butters commented: “Having worked with the Company and its key stakeholders in challenging circumstances over the last couple of months, we are delighted to announce the going concern sale of the Constar UK business which preserves a significant number of jobs in the local region”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .