Artenius collapses after Spanish parent pulls plug

The Artenius chemical plant in Teesside has been placed into administration by its Spanish owners, making 137 of 242 staff redundant.

La Seda de Barcelona is closing the plant in Wilton, near Redcar, as part of a five-year restructuring plan which includes selling on five other sites in Europe to focus on chemical production abroad, nebusiness.co.uk reported.

Administrator Dan Butters told the BBC: 'The company is continuing to trade while we seek to identify going concern bidders.

'Regretfully we have been forced to announce 137 redundancies today, mostly in respect of the already closed division.

'We are extremely grateful to the staff and management for their co-operation during this difficult time.'

'We are working with the Job Centre and Insolvency Service to support employees wherever possible and are grateful for their assistance.'