The fate of troubled bus builder Wrightbus hangs in the balance after a former owner said a deal to buy the Co Antrim-based company was off.<\/p>\n
Jeff Wright, who owns the factory premises, said it was \u201cdeeply regrettable\u201d that a prospective sale had not been completed for the administration-hit operation.<\/p>\n
English industrialist Jo Bamford, son of JCB chairman Lord Bamford, was bidding for the company.<\/p>\n
Despite Mr Wright\u2019s statement on Thursday morning, officials from the Unite union told workers waiting in the rain outside the Ballymena plant that the process was not dead yet.<\/p>\n
They claimed Mr Bamford was still considering his position.<\/p>\n
The company, well known for building London buses, was placed into administration last month with the loss of 1,200 jobs.<\/p>\n
The firm struggled following a downturn in demand for buses in the UK.<\/p>\n
The sale has been complicated by the fact that the Wrightbus factory is under separate ownership from the business itself and therefore not controlled by the administrators.<\/p>\n
Mr Wright, who controls the premises, insisted he had been willing to sell the factory and associated lands but claimed the issue of dispute involved unrelated farmlands belonging to his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe failure by Mr Bamford\u2019s Ryse Hydrogen company to complete the deal to purchase Wrightbus is deeply regrettable especially after the exhaustive efforts all of us involved have gone to in providing every possible support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Wright said it was \u201cdisingenuous\u201d to suggest his family were creating barriers over the land holdings.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the record the entire premises at Glagorm including the factory, fixtures and fittings as well as the land was agreed to be made available to all bidders, either to lease or purchase,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Wright said the issue was over unrelated additional farmlands owned by his family.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI hope that Deloittes (administrators) have not been side-tracked by the Bamford engagement and can now put their energies into delivering a deal by working with the remaining bidders to secure the future of Wrightbus and the jobs in Ballymena.\u201d<\/p>\n
North Antrim MP Ian Paisley had earlier urged all parties to put their shoulder to the wheel to get the deal done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation is very much in the balance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no second chances here \u2013 you can\u2019t do this again on Friday or Saturday \u2013 this is the decision day.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told BBC Radio Ulster: \u201cEither it\u2019s the continuation of the building of the best buses produced in the world, or it\u2019s the end of bus building in Ballymena.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s critical and everyone needs to come together and put their shoulder to wheel to get this over the line one way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Mr Wright criticized the role played by Mr Paisley, claiming his interventions had been \u201cunhelpful to say the least\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Paisley would be well advised to leave the business of deal making to the professionals at Deloittes (administrators),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n