You may have heard of Vertu, the UK-based manufacturer sells smartphones with decent specifications and expensive materials. Vertu hands can easily run into thousands of dollars and while it may have healthy margins on these products, they don’t seem to be enough to solve its money problems. Vertu has £128 million debt and since the owner can’t pay creditors, the company is shutting down its manufacturing operations in the United Kingdom.
For those who are unaware, Vertu got its start back in 1998 when it was a part of Nokia. A private equity company EQT purchased it from Nokia back in 2012. Godin Holdings of China purchased it from that firm in 2015.
The ownership of this company has already changed hands multiple times. Businessman Murat Hakan Uzan purchased the company back in March this year. He’s now shutting down Vertu’s manufacturing operations in the United Kingdom, cutting some 200 jobs in the process.
The smartphones themselves didn’t have technology that could rival even premium mid-range handsets from the likes of Huawei and Samsung. However, they did boast premium materials like ostrich leather and jewels.
Even though manufacturing is being shut down, Uzan is going to retain ownership of Vertu’s brand, design licenses, and technology. According to a report, Uzan is planning to resurrect the company at a later point in the future.
If you’re one of those people who can spend upwards of $10,000 on a smartphone, you’ve got to look elsewhere now.
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