Owners of a long-established family business have reassured 60 employees at stores across north Shropshire that their jobs are safe – despite the company being sold.
Staff at all four of the T O Williams shops in the district received letters last weekend informing them that the business had been bought by new owners who are set to take over on Monday.
Workers and councillors have expressed sadness over the news that the firm, which has been in the district for 70 years, is set to leave the hands of the family who have run it for three generations.
T O Williams, a fine food specialist, has shops in Wem, Whitchurch, Shawbury and Market Drayton as well as a central bakery in Wem.
The company was set up by Thomas Owen Williams who opened his first Shropshire premises in Wem in 1935.
The business is run by the third generation of the Williams family, brothers Stephen and Dan, who have decided to move into property development.
Wem town and district councillor Peggy Carson said people in Wem were flabbergasted by the news. She said: “It’s the end of an era in Wem. The business started here, it’s been in the family for so long.”
But Stephen Williams, one of the owners, said the sale could be good news as the new owners have plans to expand the business.
He added that all four shops and the bakery would remain open and that jobs would be unaffected.
Mr Williams said: “It will be strange and a little bit sad, but life is short and you have to move forward.
“It’s been on the table for longer than the current economic crisis so the sale isn’t related to that. It’s time for a change and it is for no other reason than that.”
Catherine Alvis, who manages the T O Williams shop in Shawbury, reassured staff that the company would remain unchanged. She said: “It will be business as usual. I haven’t been here that long, although some people have so they feel a bit sad, but that’s business nowadays.”
Sylvia Brown, who manages the Whitchurch branch, is a long-term employee of the firm. She said that it was unfortunate to think of the family leaving the business but that she wished them all the best in their new venture.
She said: “I started here when the shop opened in Whitchurch 15 years ago.
“I’m quite sad really but things move on. We’ll take things as they come and face the future with open minds.”
• What are your memories of the T O Williams family business? Ring reporter Emma Kasprzak on 01743 283324 or email jbutterworth@northshrop shirechronicle.co.uk