Manufacturing at the historic Ideal Standard site in Middlewich will resume once again after it was bought by international sanitary ware giant, Imperial Bathrooms.

Imperial, which is part of Hong Kong listed HKR International, has bought the site in a multi-million pound deal that will create up to 150 jobs by May 2012.

Ideal Standard announced it was closing the factory earlier this year with the loss of around 250 jobs. The move was a bitter blow as the site had been one of the town’s biggest employers since 1897.

Imperial was advised by Philip Treanor, Head of Corporate Finance at Manchester law firm Pannone and Associate Tom Hall.

Philip said: “This deal will restore manufacturing at the Middlewich site which has been at the heart of the local community for more than a century.

“Imperial Bathrooms, with its UK brand ‘Impulse’ and new brand ‘Ours’ is committed to creating jobs and UK manufacturing.”

Imperial’s Managing Director Jan Klomp said: “We have acquired an excellent plant with a rich history.

“I think that we are one of the first to make the move back to Europe – but I am certain more will follow. There is a highly-skilled workforce in the North West and it is the obvious place to go when manufacturing for UK and mainland European customers. It is also very exciting to be back in the birthplace of this fantastic industry!”

HKR International has an annual turnover of £180m. Its Imperial Bathroom subsidiary operates in more than 18 countries.

In Australia, Imperial is ranked as the No. 1 imported brand of sanitary ware products, and is the second largest player on that market. It also has an enviable position in the Australian premium original equipment manufacturing (OEM) market with large accounts

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