A £18.5m investment in production facilities by Britain’s largest washing machine brand Hotpoint, has secured 1,000 jobs in north Wales. The money, which is being provided by Hotpoint’s parent company General Domestic Appliances Ltd (GDA), will go towards the development of an advanced range of washing machines, at the Kinmel Park site near Bodelwyddan. GDA group managing director Graham White said, “We looked at siting the facility in Hungary but Britain offered us a number of advantages such as the manufacturing location and a skilled workforce.”
Whitbread to sell pubs
The hotels and restaurant group Whitbread is to sell its 3,000 pubs and concentrate on its core leisure businesses, which include Marriott hotels, the Beefeater restaurant chain and David Lloyd sports clubs. The move comes after the sale of its brewing interests to Belgian company Interbrew this year.
Arcadia closes outlets
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UK retail chain Arcadia, which includes the Top Shop, Burton and Warehouse brands, last week announced it had identified 455 outlets for disposal as part of its wide-ranging restructuring programme. The move is likely to result in a significant number of job losses throughout the group. The announcement came as the company reported a pre-tax loss for the full year of £8.5m.
