ADMINISTRATORS appointed to a paper-making firm have said a number of parties worldwide have "expressed an interest in the business".
A total of 325 employees lost their jobs when Tullis Russell Papermakers, based at Markinch, Fife, called in administrators last month, with a further 149 positions at risk.
Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of KPMG were appointed joint administrators of the company on April 27 and the Scottish Government set up a taskforce backed by £6 million investment.
They said that although interest had been expressed in the business, there remained a "number of challenges" to overcome.
The administrators said they have re-established contact with parties including other paper manufacturers and paper merchants across the world who had earlier declined the opportunity to buy the business. They said they have also marketed it for sale to the wider investor community.
A deadline has now been set for bids after they received a number of "notes of interest from parties worldwide, both for the business and assets as a going concern and for individual assets or brand names".
KPMG said an information memorandum has now been issued to a small number of parties who have signed a confidentiality agreement.
Mr Nimmo said: "We have been contacted by a number of parties that have expressed an interest in the business, which reflects the company's long history, strong reputation for high quality products and the high regard in which it was held by its customers and within the industry.
"Nevertheless, there remain a number of challenges to overcome should a purchaser wish to acquire the business and assets and recommence paper manufacturing.
"We have set an initial closing date for indicative offers for the business and assets for 12pm on Monday May 18, after which we will be better able to assess the level of interest. In the meantime, we would like to thank the company's staff for their ongoing assistance."
Meanwhile, a support event for those facing redundancy attracted 368 people yesterday.
The Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) event, held in Balbirnie House in Glenrothes, brought together 45 exhibitors including 25 employers.
PACE is a Scottish Government initiative led by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in conjunction with a number of key PACE Partners, for responding to redundancy situations.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney, co-chairman of the Fife Taskforce, said it was a positive sign.
"In only one week 45 exhibitors, including 25 employers, came together to do what they can during this challenging time for the community, and I am encouraged that 368 individuals took advantage of today's event.
"I want to be very clear - this government is committed to doing all it can to support the company, the workforce and the local community at this challenging time, and we are working closely with Fife Council in doing so. We will leave no stone unturned and that is why we are focusing all efforts on identifying a buyer, securing a future for the Glenrothes site, and supporting employees."
David Ross, leader of Fife Council, added: "As well as trying to find a buyer for the company finding employment for the workforce that has been made redundant is a top priority. I'm delighted this event has been so well attended and - critically - supported by local agencies and employers; I hope it will prove useful for many of the workforce."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article