Thu, 23 Oct 2025 | ADMINISTRATION
Venator Materials UK Limited, a chemicals company operating from three sites in the North East of England, has fallen into administration. More than 270 staff have been made redundant, with 232 retained to assist in the administration process.
The collapse of Venator Materials UK, which forms part of the global Venator group, follows the earlier administration of Venator Materials plc and two non-trading holding companies within the wider group. Venator Materials UK’s sites included a titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment plant based in Greatham, which is currently idled.
Mark Firmin, Jonny Marston and Helen Skeates of Alvarez & Marsal were appointed joint administrators of the company on October 22 following a period of sustained financial pressures and adverse market conditions affecting the global titanium dioxide manufacturing sector.
Prior to the appointment, the administrators and Venator’s leadership team engaged with regulators regarding the safe operation of the Greatham site in idle mode during the administration period.
The plant is set to be maintained in an idle state by the joint administrators until the completion of an asset sale, with Venator Materials UK announcing last week that an asset purchase agreement had been signed. The sale will complete subject to regulatory approvals and a number of customary closing conditions.
Joint administrator and Alvarez & Marsal Managing Director Mark Firmin said that the Venator Group had been “severely impacted by increased competition and rising costs in recent months.”
Venator Managing Director Karen Askwith commented: "Despite extensive efforts to stabilise the UK business, the Venator Materials UK Ltd Board of Directors has taken decisive action to protect stakeholder interests and made the difficult decision to appoint administrators. This provides an opportunity to restructure whilst we continue to pursue the completion of the sale process for the Greatham plant and associated TiO-pigment assets.”
Askwith said that administration was “the most responsible path forward”, owing to the “prolonged downturn in the TiO-industry and the financial pressures” the group faced. She added that the process “allows us to preserve value and create the conditions necessary for a potential future recovery under new ownership."
In accounts for the year to December 31 2023, Venator Materials UK Limited reported turnover of £291.3 million, down from around £372 million a year earlier, while falling from an operating profit of approximately £10 million to a loss of around £39 million.
At the time, its fixed assets were valued at £112.9 million and current assets at £126.3 million, with total net assets amounting to £156.8 million.
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