Rescue plan could save 100 Cheltenham jobs

12.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 1st Jun 2009

CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood has worked with company employees at threatened engineering business FormFlo to put together a rescue plan that could save 100 threatened jobs. He has contacted Lord Mandelson for support and introduced employees to Baxi Partnership, a company that has helped many employees successfully buy out their companies.

"The closure of FormFlo would mean 100 jobs disappearing in Britain, assets and technical knowledge being sold to Germany and another small nail in the coffin of British manufacturing industry" said Martin. "This would be a tragedy for many Cheltenham families and a sad day for our proud tradition of world-class engineering."

"I'm delighted that the government is willing to help with advice and possible support and that Baxi Partnership have agreed a funding scheme in principle. We believe an employee buy-out is a perfectly viable option and I've written again today to FormFlo's parent company Tomkins Plc strongly urging them to allow FormFlo management to share the information we need to put a real business plan together. I think it's quite possible that this might be the best option for Tomkins and their German customer Hoerbiger as well. It's much cheaper to keep a successful business going than to bear all the costs of redundancy, closure and transfer of assets."

Martin has worked with FormFlo employee Andy Rhoden to put the rescue deal together and his letter strongly urges Tomkins not to take any pre-emptive decisions that would prevent this option being properly explored. He has also informed south west EuroMP Graham Watson, who is leader of the 104-strong Liberal group in the European Parliament which includes German MEPs alongside their British counterparts.