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
Copper’s long-term outlook is constrained by the industry’s limited ability to bring new supply online fast enough to meet rising demand, with permitting delays, higher capital costs and policy risks slowing project development, industry executives said at the FT Commodities Global Summit on Wednesday April 22.
Capital is flowing back into junior mining, but selectively. Investment is increasingly favouring development‑stage assets with clearer paths to production, supported by government funding and strategic partnerships. While demand for critical minerals underpins the cycle, early‑stage explorers continue to struggle for capital as investors prioritise discipline, ESG alignment and near‑term cash flow.
Copper in concentrate production from Ivanhoe Mines' Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fell to 61,906 tonnes in the first quarter, down by 54% from 133,120 tonnes a year earlier, with the company now evaluating local third-party concentrate purchases to advance the ramp-up of its on-site smelter, according to an April 13 production release as the market focused its attention on the impact of global sulfuric acid shortages during CESCO Week in Chile from April 13-17.
China's planned sulfuric acid export ban from May 1, historic lows for copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) and a fragmenting 2026 benchmark system dominated CESCO Week 2026 in Santiago from April 13-17.
The proposal would align the index more closely with physically traded volumes in the region, and enable it to adjust to evolving market conditions. This proposal follows an observed widening of the spread between trader and smelter purchase components of the index and is aligned with a majority of market feedback. Additionally, Fastmarkets seeks feedback […]
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.