Council seeks to prevent Burton’s factory closure
WIRRAL Council leader Jeff Green has held talks with the owners of the Burton’s biscuit factory in Moreton with a view to try and persuade management to change its decision to close the site.
Burton’s announced plans to close the plant, which makes Cadbury’s products such as Crunchie, Turkish Delight and Caramel biscuits under licence. Some 342 people are currently employed at the site.
Burton’s has blamed high costs and overcapacity in the market as the reason for its closure, while officials from the Unite union have insisted that the plant is viable and that threats to close it contravened an memorandum of understanding signed in 2007 which guaranteed it would remain open until 2012.
Green met both sides last week and asked Burton’s chief executive Ben Clarke why it had decided to close the Moreton plant so quickly after completing a supply chain review of all of its UK sites.
“I stressed to Mr Clarke the importance this factory has to the local economy and the futures of so many families.
“At a time when many employers tell me that having a skilled workforce can be one of their greatest assets, I do not believe Burton’s will find a more committed, skilled and flexible workforce than has been demonstrated here at Moreton.”
“As Leader of the council, I want to make Wirral a place where employers want to be. The council has previously invested large sums of money to support and modernise this factory.
“I asked Mr Clarke if further council support will change their plan and he has agreed to consider that.
“In the meantime, I have invited Angela Eagle MP to meet me later this week. It’s important that we all work together on this issue – 342 families expect nothing less.”
Burton’s is owned by US private equity firm Duke Street Capital alongside lenders
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Apollo Global Management.
Apollo and CIBC had provided funding for Duke Street’s £220m buyout of Burton’s in March 2007 and became majority shareholders of the business following a £137m debt-for-equity swap in 2009 after the business breached its banking covenants.
