Darwen revises funding for Optare deal as Stanley backs Tanfield Group

Darwen chairman Stanley has spent £500,000 buying shares in the troubled Tanfield Group

Darwen chairman Stanley has spent £500,000 buying shares in the troubled Tanfield Group

Bus manufacturer Darwen Group has been forced to revise plans for a stock market placing that will allow it to fund the acquisition of Optare.

In a statement issued last week, Darwen said that its directors had noted the recent decline in the company’s share price and were unable to explain why.

However, it is believed that chairman Roy Stanley’s links with troubled Tanfield Group, a specialist manufacturer of electric vehicles and lifting platforms of which he is founder and...