There have been allegations of a multi-million pound fraud at Glen Dimplex Home Appliance’s (GDHA) Merseyside cooker factory which are being investigated by police.
Detectives and accountants have been going through the records at GDHA, formerly Stoves, amid claims a large amount of money is missing.
A figure close to the investigation said it was a “considerable amount of money” – alleged to run into millions – and confirmed detectives were brought in to investigate by the Prescot-based domestic appliance manufacturer.
The investigation is currently with detectives in Knowsley CID, but is likely to be transferred to the specialist Economic Crime Team who are experts in forensic accounting and following paper trails.
Rumours circulating in the factory, which employs around 1,000 people, suggested large amounts of money are unaccounted for between 2007 and last October.
One former factory worker told the Liverpool ECHO: “They’ve had between 20 and 30 accountants there since Christmas going through the numbers. They’ve been locked in a room away from the staff, but people are beginning to talk.”
Based in Stoney Lane, Prescot, Stoves has been making cookers on Merseyside since 1920. It was the target of a £12m takeover by Irish multi-national Glen Dimplex in 2001.
It now manufactures cookers and dishwashers under the Belling and New World brands, as well as Stoves, and in 2005 added Lec fridges to the portfolio.
Falling profits (the company lost £1.4m in 2009) coincided with industrial unrest after the management axed a three-year, 2.5% pay deal in order to safeguard jobs. That led to union staff walking out and being docked wages for taking part in an “illegal strike”. But the company’s last financial statement, filed on March 31, 2010, shows it was back in profit, having made £5.3m.
Community Union campaign manager Chris Ambrose said: “Community Union is, of course, extremely concerned about recent reports coming out of Glen Dimplex and we will be monitoring the situation closely in the interests of our members.”
A Merseyside police spokeswoman said: “We can confirm we are investigating following an allegation of fraud. At this point, there have been no arrests.”
Glen Dimplex have not yet made any comment on the matter.
