The future is bleak for Stoneywood paper mill in Aberdeen, as a deadline for selling the historic facility has now passed.

There had been hopes of finding a buyer to run the business as a going concern.

However, that has not happened - and assets at the site will now be sold off.

Hundreds of jobs were lost in the city when the operation went under last month.

Administrators were appointed at the Arjowiggins Group mills in the Granite City and Chartham in Kent, with 368 of the 463 UK-based employees made redundant.

A total of 301 out of 372 jobs were lost initially at Stoneywood.

Limited activity

Ninety-five employees were retained by the administrators to assist them with the operation of limited activity at the two mills while they explored any possibility of a sale of the sites and assets.

The loss of the Aberdeen mill was devastating news for its workforce, and is also an economic setback for the area.

North-east MSP Douglas Lumsden described it as a hammer blow to the north-east economy and Scottish manufacturing.

Joint administrator Blair Nimmo said at the time of his appointment that significant economic headwinds hitting industrial manufacturing businesses up and down the country, including skyrocketing energy costs and spiralling input prices, had proved to be overwhelming for the group.

The administrators now say they are continuing to look for buyers, but this will now be alongside the site wind-down strategy and the sale of assets on a piecemeal basis.

They told the BBC: "If any party has a genuine interest in acquiring both or either mill as an operational facility, then they should contact the administrators immediately."

City's last paper mill

Stoneywood was the last remaining paper mill in Aberdeen, with three centuries of history behind it.

The site has been part of the fabric of Aberdeen since 1710.

The mill based beside the River Don was established by local laird James Moir, owner of the Stoneywood Estate, after French papermakers Nicolas de Champ and Nicolas Dupin brought the skills of the French industry to Scotland.

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