Wrightbus confirms it is seeking new investor

It has brought in consultants Deloitte in a bid to ensure its skilled workforce continued to deliver “cutting edge” transport vehicles to customers near and far.

A Wrightbus statement said: “As Wrightbus continues to expand its global customer base, there is increased complexity to tailor our products to the climate, territory and operating characteristics of our diverse customer base.

“To strengthen the company’s ability to accelerate its development of these new technologies, Deloitte is working with the company to explore the potential of bringing on board an investor.

“This is to ensure that the skills and talents of our Ballymena workforce continue to deliver cutting-edge transport vehicles to our customers near and far.

“The company continues to win new business and this is evident in the recent uptake of our zero emission fuel cell vehicles bolstering a strong 2019 order book.”

Wrightbus has been a hugely profitable company in the past and based its business model on producing low-emissions vehicles.

When Boris Johnson was mayor of London he announced a lucrative order to produce the capital’s latest fleet of buses.

A trade union leader said the workforce deserved full transparency amid reports of cashflow problems.

Unite the Union regional officer George Brash said the union has recently held meetings with the Department of Infrastructure, attended by official job creation agency Invest NI.

He said: “Wrightbus is a major employer, and reports that the company is seeking new investors have given rise to concerns among the workforce and the wider Ballymena community.

“Unite is seeking an urgent meeting with the company to address the genuine concerns which today’s news reports have raised for our members.

“The workforce in Wrightbus deserves full transparency.”