OFT to review Latium sale

THE Office of Fair Trading has announced that it will look into the recently-announced deal by Epwin Group to acquire Brian Kennedy’s Latium Group, which owns most of the manufacturing arms of his double glazing empire including Macclesfield-based Spectus Window Systems.

The deal, which was announced last month, will see Mr Kennedy retain a stake in an enlarged business which will employ around 2,500 staff and have a turnover of approximately £275m.

The OFT has said it will investigate whether the merger is likely to impact on competition in the sector, and has asked for firms who might be affected to write in about any competition or public interest issues associated with the deal by March 6.

Meanwhile, Mr Kennedy, who owns the Sale Sharks rugby club and its Edgeley Park stadium, has been linked with a potential bid for football club Glasgow Rangers, which is currently in administration.

A spokesman for the entrepreneur confirmed he had made ‘tentative enquiries’ about the club.

Mr Kennedy had previously owned Stockport County for a brief period and was also linked to a bid for Hibernian FC in the late 1990s.