DOZENS of jobs have been saved at a Congleton firm following the sale of the crisis-hit company.

Some 83 people were made redundant by fitness equipment makers Pulse Fitness when the firm collapsed with multi-million pound debts.

However its future and that of the remaining 50 jobs has been secured by its sale to the St Albans-based Caverdale Group.

The group has moved to focus exclusively on its leisure activities after selling its motor distribution and industrial products businesses for £60 million.

"I am delighted Pulse Fitness has found a financially strong partner to enable the continued rapid expansion of the business, and to fully realise the potential of our award-winning cardio and strength products,'' said Pulse spokesman Chris Johnson.

The sale of the business was agreed by business recovery and insolvency expert David Wilton from PricewaterhouseCoopers, which had run the firm since it was placed in administration by the High Court at the end of August.

Before its collapse Pulse employed 133 people, and the redundancies were split between staff and workers at its factory on the Greenfield Farm estate in Congleton and the warehouse in Biddulph.

Pulse Fitness was formed in 1989, and boasted a turnover of £10 million for the 10 months to December 1997.

However its liabilities at the end of last year were almost as great as the turnover, totalling some £7.8 million.

The 83 redundancies were sparked by a lack of cash to pay the wages of Pulse's workforce, and were announced the same day workers were due to receive their monthly pay.

"The firm has been sold to a subsidiary of Caverdale, which is expected to continue the manufacturing and client service divisions of the former company,'' said Mr Wilton.

"This sale secures the survival of the business as a going concern, and achieves a higher level of realisations for creditors than could have been expected if the company had gone into liquidation.

"I hope the business will now be able to prosper and grow.''

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