Almost 300 jobs could be saved at a factory near Ellesmere Port after a consortium has expressed interest in buying the plant.
Last month, CF Fertilisers announced the closure of their plant in Ince, with the company revealing that it wants to focus its manufacturing operations in the UK exclusively at the Billingham manufacturing facility in Teesside – the largest ammonia, ammonium nitrate and carbon dioxide production facility in the country. The news came after the production of ammonia at the Cheshire site ceased in September 2021.
The closure would see the loss of 283 jobs at the plant, as well as 55 at the company's corporate office, also located at Ince. But now a consortium led by the former head of the Army, Lord Dannatt, is reportedly in talks with CF Fertilisers' American parent company to purchase the plant.
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The potential takeover has been welcomed by Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders, who told Parliament that he was "pleased to see that there is interest in purchasing the plant."
Speaking in the House of Commons on June 23, Mr Madders revealed that CF Industries increased its dividends by 33% in the first quarter of this year. The comments came after Mr Madders met with George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to discuss the future of the plant.
Mr Madders said: "On the subject of CF Fertilisers, can I thank the Secretary of State for his time yesterday to discuss the future of the site. I am pleased to see that there is interest in purchasing the plant.
"Does he [Mr Eustice] agree with me that, despite the ongoing challenges the industry faces, for a parent company that increased its dividends by thirty-three per cent in the first quarter, there is no reason why the plant cannot be sold as a going concern."
CF Fertilisers produces 60% of the UK's CO2, a gas crucial to the food industry, NHS, and nuclear power generation. In September, CF Fertilisers stopped production at both of its UK plants citing the profitability of producing the gas, a by-product of the process used to make fertiliser.
The moved sparked a shortage of CO2 and that threatened to cause food shortages and price rises nationwide. Later that month, ministers bailed-out the US-based company, providing money to fund the Teesside plant for three weeks of production while the Ince factory remained closed.
George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has also expressed his support for the selling of the factory. He said: "Mr. Speaker, I entirely agree with the honourable gentleman.
"Although CF Fertilisers have chosen to consolidate their UK operations into Billingham, the Ince plant remains viable, and the best commercial exit from that plant would be to progress an offer around selling it as a going concern."
He added: "There are many skilled people in his constituency who have been working at that plant, and the best outcome for all concerned would be for it to be sold as a going concern."
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