A Norwich chemical manufacturer is under new ownership after its owners agreed a deal to sell it to a German holding company.

Bayer CropScience in Sweet Briar Road has been bought by a subsidiary of Munich-based Aurelius AG for an undisclosed sum.

The deal, which is expected to be formalised in the next quarter, means the facility, which employs around 260 staff and 50 contractors, will become a stand alone company able to bid for new contracts beyond its current owners the Bayer Group, which will remain its main customer.

Tim Green, site manager said: 'Bayer will be our major customer, but whereas in the past we were restricted in what we do to within the Bayer network when looking for business, we can now go anywhere. We will be set up as an independent business.'

He said the company had already recruited IT and finance staff to help with its transition to a stand alone firm and it would also recruit for sales and marketing positions.

'We previously bought in a lot of those services from Bayer, but they will now be established on site,' Mr Green added.

'I'm pleased the sale has gone through and the reaction of people on site has been very positive and we can move to the next stage.'

The sale follows plans to invest nearly �10m in new facilities to get the site ready to stand on its own two feet and Andrew Orme, managing director of Bayer CropScience in the UK, said the sale would safeguard the site's future as a going concern.'

Donatus Albrecht, member of the Board of Management at Aurelius AG, said: 'The site in Norwich is in outstanding technical condition and a leader in its field. We believe that it has great potential for the future.'

shaun.lowthorpe@archant.co.uk