Brintons Carpets may be sold to private equity company

A Worcestershire carpet firm that has been in the hands of the same family for more than 200 years may be sold.

Don Coates, managing director of Kidderminster-based Brintons Carpets, said they were in discussion with a "global private equity company".

If the deal goes ahead the family would hand over control of the business established by William Brinton in 1783.

Mr Coates said the equity company were proposing to make a "transformational" investment in the firm.

He is expecting the deal to be finalised "within weeks" with the "lion's share" of any new investment going abroad.

Brintons Carpets has two factories in the UK, one in Portugal, one in India, and an unfinished plant in China.

The potential investor cannot be named due to a confidentiality agreement.

Mr Coates said: "Brintons has a global reputation, but has needed new investment for some time."

Mike Hardiman, former chief executive of the Carpet Foundation who worked for Brintons for 35 years, said the family created a culture that was very good to work under.

He said the potential take over is a symptom of the "very difficult times" facing carpet manufacturers in the UK.