A number of prospective buyers have expressed interest in a historic Aberdeen paper mill that plunged into administration last month.
Around 500 jobs at Arjowiggin’s Stoneywood Mill were left hanging in the balance after parent company Sequana went into administration.
The French firm has pledged to work with administrators to find a buyer, while the Scottish Government has created a task force to protect jobs.
Last night a spokesman for the administrators, FRP Advisory, said: “There have been a number of inquiries for the Creative Papers division of the Arjowiggins Group, which includes the Stoneywood Mill.
“FRP Advisory is progressing discussions and the provision of information to several parties.
“The joint administrators continue to work closely with staff, customers, suppliers and company representatives to ensure the business is trading as efficiently as possible. FRP Advisory is also continuing to actively market the business for sale.”
The mill has been in operation since 1770 and has a turnover of £120 million.
Tommy Campbell, Unite industrial officer for the Aberdeen mill, said: “I am glad to see administrators are working very hard to secure genuine buyers.
“Should they succeed the future of the mill will be secured and that is what we are all aiming for.”
Mills in Culter, Inverurie, Donside and Mugiemoss once employed more than 4,000 people and produced millions of tonnes of paper every year.
Mugiemoss in Aberdeen was among the last of the north-east paper plants to shut, with just Stoneywood Mill now remaining.
It was established in 1710 by James Moir, in the years after French papermakers Nicolas de Champ and Nicolas Dupin brought the skills of the French papermaking industry to Scotland.
The pair are said to be responsible for the growth of papermaking in the country during the early 18th Century.
Culter Mill was opened near Aberdeen in 1750 by Bartholomew Smith, a papermaker from England.
The Victorian mill closed in about 1980, when the site was subsequently used for housing.
The Donside Paper Mill closed in 2001 with the loss of around 250 jobs – and the site has been redeveloped as an “urban village”. Mugiemoss Paper Mill closed in 2005 with the loss of 525 jobs.