CABLE manufacturer Ventcroft is looking ahead to a bright future once its long- awaited relocation is complete.

The company’s Runcorn premises are in the path of the planned second Mersey bridge, the Mersey Gateway.

After long negotiations with Halton Council, the firm agreed a pre-compulsory purchase deal to allow it to relocate. The deal meant the move was not dependent on the bridge going ahead.

In accounts filed at Companies House, Ventcroft said the move had taken longer than planned and had taken up much management time. But the company says that, once the move is completed, it will be stronger than ever and ready for growth.

The accounts show sales for the year to September 30, 2010, stood at £13.2m – up from £11.5m in the previous 12 months.

But profits stood at £126,559 – down from £196,906.

Ventcroft has started moving into its new home, just 500m away from its old home, and the move should be complete by November.

It said: “Trading conditions were still extremely difficult and strenuous efforts needed to be made for the company to maintain its position in the market that it had worked so hard to achieve.

“New product development strategies have also been hindered by the amount of management time being spent on the relocation, and this, too, had impacted on the company’s performance for the financial year.

“The efficiencies to be gained from the new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility are significant and this, with the completion of the relocation allowing the director to refocus on the business rather than the move, is seen as a turning point in what has been a challenging time in the history of the business.”

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON