A DISTRIBUTION company which has its main warehouse in Hartlebury is to be taken over by an international company for a massive £18million.

Serco Ryan, which has around 80 of its 200-strong workforce working on the Ikon Industrial estate in Hartlebury, is being taken over by global manufacturer and distributor of industrial fastenings Trifast plc.

The acquisition means Serco Ryan's central warehouse in Hartlebury is to become Trifast's European central site for standard fasteners.

This is according to Serco Ryan's managing director Steve Auld, who described the development as "good news".

He said it was unlikely any jobs would be shed at the Hartlebury premises - but "more likely" that jobs would be created by the acquisition.

Serco Ryan distributes industrial screws and fasteners, but has different clients to Trifast, making any overlap "limited".

Mr Auld said: "At this stage we can quite categorically say there are no plans to reduce our labour force because it's far too early to even consider.

"We have no plans other than we know our business operations need to able to expand and take advantage of the opportunities we've got so it's very much a good news announcement."

Mr Auld, 45, who is based at Hartlebury, is also due to be appointed to the board of directors at Trifast.

In the year which ended April 30 this year, Serco Ryan's turnover amounted to £41.3, with an operating profit of £2.3million.

In comparison, Trifast - which is due to open a new factory in China towards the end of the year - produced operating profits of £6.1 on sales of £104million.

The acquisition is expected to be completed on Monday, October 17, following an extraordinary meeting earlier in the month.