One of the UK’s leading fishing tackle manufacturers has announced it is to restructure the head quarter of its operation in order to reduce costs and increase profitability.

Hardy & Greys is a major employer in the market town of Alnwick in Northumberland where a number of job losses are expected. The company also has operations in Germany and the US, however these will not be affected by the plans.

A spokesman for the company said cost pressures and lower margins had forced it to make major savings on its overheads.

“Opening discussions with our workforce about what might be 27 redundancies was a difficult decision for us to make, especially as our relatively new German and US operations are doing very well and winning market share. In the UK and Ireland, sales are also still good compared to most of our competitors, although margins have suffered.

“But the fishing tackle market is flat and we have had to revise our growth projections against a backdrop of a well-documented worldwide slowdown in consumer spending. Making these cost savings now, will enable us to better manage our financial position and be in a better position to take advantage of the upturn when it finally comes.”

The company has also announced the departure of managing director Richard Sanderson. Previous MD and current non-executive director Richard Maudslay has returned to Hardy & Greys in an interim capacity.