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
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
Roughly 40,000 tonnes per month of copper cathode that once flowed smoothly into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Jebel Ali had few options to reroute after the Strait of Hormuz officially closed on Monday March 2, with the only alternative entry points — Khor Fakkan and Fujairah — already straining under the weight of diverted cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.
Navigating market volatility with data-driven strategies for resilient mining operations