Breaking news: ILVA quits the North East

Jun 25 2008 By Andrew Mernin

THE jobs of hundreds of workers at Danish furniture giant Ilva were thrown into jeopardy today as the firm plunged into administration.

The company, which once employed 350 people at its 120,000 sq ft store at Gateshead’s Metro Centre, entered into administration due to a ‘strategic withdrawal from the UK market’.

Staff were told this morning the Icelandic-owned company planned to pull out of the UK market with restructuring firm Kroll appointed as administrators.

The company has 400 employees across three stores in Gateshead, Thurrock and Manchester as well as its head office and Internet operation based in Reading.

See The Journal tomorrow for a full report and analyis on this story.