Korean firm buys Artenius from administration

Spanish owner La Seda de Barcelona placed Artenius UK into administration in August. But administrators from Deloitte today announced that Lotte Chemical UK had bought the firm’s assets with support from the One North East regional development agency.

The deal for all the operational assets at Wilton, including both PTA and PET manufacturing, will be transferred to the new owner, subject to European regulatory approval.

The deal safeguards the 41 remaining jobs at the site and could create 132 more jobs with the £1.8m One North East grant earmarked for investment.

Daniel Butters, partner in Deloitte’s reorganisation services practice, said he was delighted that the deal would help secure employment in the area. “I believe the sale will also be a boost to the considerable number of stakeholders, locally and globally, that are eager to see the PTA and PET businesses survive.”

Lotte is a subsidiary of the KP Chemical Corporation, which is itself an affiliate of Korea-based Lotte Group.

KP chief executive Soo-Young Huh said: “This asset represents the next steps in the globalisation of the Lotte Group which intends to reach a $40bn turnover in its chemical division in the next eight years.

Huh said he it would be a challenge to get the new business up and running quickly, but he anticipated seeing the first products leave the factory in April.

Shortly after the plant was mothballed it was suggested that foreign firms could be interested in the facility, although Lotte was not one of the names in contention at that time.

The Artenius closure was a big concern for residents in the north-east, which was hit by other closures last year.

The Unite trade union expressed concerns that the site had been the victim of problems at head office and staff at the site travelled to Spain to confront La Seda’s stakeholders.

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