TWO major East Lancashire employers have been taken over by venture capital firms in multi-million pound deals.

Wardle Storeys, which employs around 500 at its plants at Blackburn and Earby, is being bought out in a £114million takeover backed by venture capital group Alchemy Partners.

And Scapa has sold the last of its East Lancashire manufacturing operations, Scapa Filter Media, which employs around 100 at Haslingden as part of a £37million deal with a new firm called Weaverman set up to make the offer.

Wardle Storeys, which manufactures PVC sheeting and car trim at its East Lancashire sites, said it had agreed the offer from Edlaw, a new company set up by Alchemy, with some reluctance.

Wardle Storeys' chairman Clive Clague said although the board did not believe the price reflected the company's true potential there was no certainty that a better offer would be received in the future.

The group said it had been conscious for some time of its "disappointing" share price performance, which had suffered from the market's general dislike with small quoted companies. Mr Clague will leave the group, based at Manningtree in Essex, following the deal, along with chief executive Brian Taylor. Mr Taylor, an ex-pilot who is 67 years old, will also sell his 11.7 per cent stake in the group - worth around £13million - and receive a termination payment of £1million.

The bid follows a dip in year-end profits at Wardle Storeys, which last week announced pre-tax profits of £14.1million, down from £15.8million last year.

The group's technical products division, which makes laminates for products including fridge doors and plastic tablecloths as well as car trim and PVC sheeting, had been hit by intense competition from imports and the strength of the pound against the euro

The sale of Scapa's Halsingden site follows its sale earlier this year of the Scapa Scandia site in Blackburn and its factory at Stubbins to German group Voith.

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