British luxury mobile phone maker Vertu has been dealing with serious financial woes for quite some time now, but according to Financial Times the brand is shutting shop. The owner of the company has failed to rescue it from bankruptcy after offering to pay creditors just £1.9 million ($2.4 million) of the firm’s £128 million debt. As a result, Vertu’s UK manufacturing operation is shutting down, leading to the loss of some 200 jobs. Exiled Turkish businessman Murat Hakan Uzan purchased Vertu in March this year. Uzan entered into a partnership with TCL, the manufacturer of Alcatel and BlackBerry devices, in June and TCL was to supply Vertu with latest technology as part of the deal, which totaled an estimated $40 million.
But since then, things have gone bad to worse and a report from the Telegraph emerged, citing overdue wages and payments to suppliers, which has forced the owner to liquidate the company. Even though manufacturing is being shut down, Uzan is going to retain ownership of Vertu’s brand, design licenses, and technology. According to the FT, a person familiar with Uzan’s plans says he intends to resurrect the company in the future.
[Via:Gizmochina]
