Bendicks MP braced for bad news
Winchester MP Steven Brine met Storck UK md Thomas Huber and Small Business Minister Mark Prisk at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in Whitehall.
The meeting followed an announcement from Storck on March 4 of the start of a 30-day consultation with 115 staff at its factory in Winnall; the German firm said it wanted to relocate production to East Germany.
Brine said: “Storck UK were at great pains to stress to us that no final decision has been taken about Winchester but shared some pretty grim figures with us in commercial confidence which I have to say don't bode well. The point remains their Winnall factory is not profit making.”
However, a skeleton sales and marketing staff for the after-dinner mint brand (which holds a royal charter) was likely to remain based in the UK, Brine added.
"Bendicks will retain a presence in Winchester whatever happens but I fear in spite of everyone's best efforts we may be bracing ourselves for bad news next month on chocolate production locally,” he said.
