STAFF at an Oxfordshire research centre have been assured that one giant owner is as good as two when it comes to job safety, writes Chris Koenig.

Cookson Matthey Ceramics, which owns the centre in Yarnton, was set up in 1994 as a joint venture between multi-nationals Johnson Matthey and Cookson. Now it has been bought by Johnson Matthey.

CMC makes materials for the ceramics industry. In the past three years the joint venture has spent £1.5m rebuilding the Yarnton research centre, where 45 people work.

A spokesman for JM said: "The centre will continue and there will be no job losses."

Until 1994 the Yarnton research centre belonged to Cookson. It was used by scientists researching all areas of the company's business, including metallurgy. Many scientists were redeployed to other plants throughout Britain when CMC was established and the research was dedicated to ceramics.

CMC's preliminary results for last year show a £6.7m pre-tax loss.

Johnson Matthey is paying £65m for Cookson's half of the business and is also taking on CMC's £67m bank borrowings.

Cookson Group chief executive Stephen Howard said: "It represents a fair price for our investment and a release from our obligations to CMC's borrowings."

CMC will become the Ceramics Materials Division of Johnson Matthey under the direction of JM's chief operating officer, Chris Clark.

The company hopes to save £4m a year on administrative expenses, moving CMC's headquarters into JM's head office. It also forecasts an upturn in the European tile market.

The pigments sector benefited last year from higher demand from the paint and automotive industries and the decorative sector benefited from increased glass sales.

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