Vertu shuts shop, 200 employees to lose jobs

Luxury phone maker Vertu as the company is shutting down its global operations. The company was acquired by a Chinese holding firm in 2015 and later changed hands again in March 2017, when Turkish businessman Murat Hakan Uzan acquired it for £50 million.

According to a Financial Times report, at the time of the latest acquisition, Vertu was under a debt of GBP 138 million and Uzan tried to repay debt for GBP 1.9 million. However, the offer was rejected by the creditors, resulting in company shutting down its operations.

A total of 200 employees will be jobless once the company’s complete shutdown. Uzan, who is presently living in Paris, will retain the ownership of Vertu’s brand, technology, and design licenses. Vertu was launched in the year 1998 and was originally a part of Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia.