A sixth of the axed jobs at a South Ayrshire concrete factory have been saved after the firm was sold to a consortium led by its former managers.

Barr Limited announced in March this year that it would close the Solway Precast plant in March, cutting 60 jobs, after sustained low demand for precast products from the construction sector.

But now the consortium, led by former managers David Murdoch and Andrew Gillon, and backed by Barr founder John Barr, has bought the plant and restarted production with a workforce of 10.

Bill Weir, managing director of Barr’s industrial division said: "This deal is good news for all parties.

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"John Barr has both a strong attachment to and a firm understanding of the business and we are confident he can take Solway Precast forward in a successful and sustainable manner."

John Barr is one of the founders of the Barr Group and played a prominent role within the company until its sale to Northern Ireland-based Trench Holdings in early 2007.

Following the sale, he retained links with Barr and continued to work in an advisory role as technical director. He has relinquished this role following the purchase of Solway Precast.

John Barr said: "The existing management team is a strong one and the products are well known and respected in the market. We see significant opportunities to grow the business by targeting the industrial and agricultural sectors and will be seeking to position ourselves as the Scottish precaster of choice.

"While the initial workforce is relatively small, we have a business plan in place to create more jobs once we are up and running fully again."

(NE)