Cupid sold for £1

The proposed sale of the Cupid business to a director will end the firm's turbulent ten-year relationship with the stock market.

Parent company Storedale plc took the decision to dispose of the Blackburn-based firm after a review found it was insolvent.

It is proposing to sell the business to Ann Byers, a director of both Storedale and Cupid Manufacturing for a nominal sum of £1.

And Cupid is proposing to enter a company voluntary arrangement - a legal agreement to pay off creditors.

The Blackburn firm, which once employed more than 200 and was the biggest of its kind in the country, now employs around 15 people. It is understood efforts are now being made to relocate the business, possibly to another site in East Lancashire. In a statement Storedale said it had funded Cupid Manufacturing to the tune of more than £2 million and had guaranteed its liabilities to the bank of around £46,000. The firm said it did not expect to receive any of the money back.

The news is the latest chapter in the troubled history of Cupid. The firm was founded by entrepreneur Mike Murray in 1981 and grew rapidly. In 1988 the firm floated on the stock market and by 1992 profits had hit £1 million but months later a boardroom rift saw Mr Murray resign.

Since then it has been through a succession of management shake-ups and ownership by parent companies including Brackenbridge and the Formal Group. It has been under the Storedale umbrella since 1997.

Storedale, which is registered at the Hutton Street Cupid site, is valued at £590,000 on the stock market and employs 369. Its shares are currently suspended.

The sale of Cupid Manufacturing is subject to approval by shareholders of Storedale. Mrs Byers was unavailable foM-$r comment on the future plans for Cupid Manufacturing.

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