The owner of British luxury phone maker Vertu has failed to rescue the company from bankruptcy after offering to pay creditors just £1.9 million ($2.4 million) of the firm’s £128 million debt. The result of this — according to reports from The Financial Times and The Telegraph — is that Vertu’s UK manufacturing operation will be shut down, leading to the loss of some 200 jobs.
Exiled businessman Murat Hakan Uzan bought the company in March, after it had been sold and re-sold by a number of investment vehicles. Uzan, who was once a prominent businessman in his home country of Turkey, is currently living in Paris, and will retain ownership of Vertu’s brand, technology, and design licenses. According to the FT, a person familiar with...
