A ROSSENDALE X-ray protection equipment company has been sold for £1.4m to its former sales manager.

WS Rothband & Co, in Knowsley Road, Haslingden, makes X-ray protection products, mainly lead aprons for the healthcare and nuclear industries.

It was bought by Paul Dixon, with backing from Lancashire County Council’s Rosebud Finance and Seneca Partners. A loan from The North West Fund for Loans Plus will support the company’s growth under Mr Dixon’s new ownership.

Andy Traynor, senior investment executive at FW Capital who made the loan to WS Rothband, said: “WS Rothband is an established business with a significant share of the UK market.

“I’m delighted that the loan from The North West Fund for Loans Plus will provide the company with the growth capital it needs to expand, and we look forward to seeing it thrive under Paul’s leadership.”

WS Rothband & Co started in 1860, and has been supplying to the NHS for almost 70 years.

The acquisition will safeguard the jobs of the company’s nine staff and allow the previous owners, Michael and Lesley Todhunter, to retire.

Mr Dixon, the new owner, is planning to create a further five jobs in the next three years, as well as expanding the business.

He is a former NHS radiographer, and was previously a sales manager and product trainer at Rothband for five years.

Paul Taberner of Enterprise Ventures, which manages Rosebud Finance, said: “Paul Dixon has spent his career in the sector and has an in-depth understanding of the market.

“He is passionate about the business and is ideally placed to take it forward.”

Lancashire County Developments Ltd (LCDL,) the county council’s economic development company, manages Enterprise ventures, who run Rosebud – a finance package supporting Lancashire firms to grow and expand their business.

County Councillor Niki Penney, chair of LCDL, said: “We’re pleased this niche business has decided to stay in Lancashire, retaining its skilled workforce and in reach of world class university engineering facilities.”

The Todhunters had run the firm since 1984 when they acquired it from Jeffrey Rothband.