UK’s only copper alloy-maker Thomas Bolton enters administration after cash crunch

Thomas Bolton, the UK’s only copper alloy maker, has been placed in administration in preparation for sale as a going concern.

Thomas Bolton, the UK’s only copper alloy maker, has been placed in administration in preparation for sale as a going concern.

The Stoke on Trent-based company has been trading for over 200 years and is a leading supplier of copper products including copper bars, rods, and sections.

As a result of unresolved “short term cash flow difficulties”, the company was placed in administration in preparation for a potential sale on Monday March 24, the administrator Zolfo Cooper said.

“We believe the company is an attractive proposition to a range of potential buyers given its expertise and excellent product range. We welcome expressions of interest from third parties to acquire the business as a going concern,” Graham Wild, one of the joint administrators and a partner at Zolfo Cooper, said on Wednesday March 26.

Mark Burton 
mburton@metalbulletin.com
Twitter: @mburtonmb

What to read next
The Chilean government is pushing ahead with plans for a new copper smelter despite the global smelting crisis, Chile’s minister of mining, Aurora Williams told Fastmarkets, adding that the state will also play a key role in developing the country’s premium lithium assets
Just under two weeks ago, the chair of BHP made a phone call to his counterpart at mining peer Anglo American and set in motion a flurry of activity designed to create the largest copper producer in the world
Brazilian aluminium supply coming from Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) is said to have tightened, helping to boost the P1020A ingot premium, market participants told Fastmarkets in the two weeks to Wednesday April 24
In anticipation of a tight market, copper concentrate traders have locked in 2025 volumes at notably low treatment charges, with deals being placed well below the long-term industry benchmarks
This move aligns with global demands for sustainability in the mining sector and sets Nexa on a path toward achieving net zero emissions by 2050
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing rationale for MB-AL-0302 aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region), $/tonne, which was published incorrectly on Friday April 19. No prices were corrected.