Trade union Unite met last week with members of a local consortium hoping to acquire the Aventas Group, the former manufacturing arm of the Quinn Group.

The consortium called the Quinn Business Retention Group is made up of three local businessmen including John McCartin, a Fine Gael councillor, and eight former Quinn Group executives, including Liam McCaffrey, its former chief executive.

In a statement Eugene McGlone of Unite, said that he “believed that the union and the consortium could do business together for the benefit of the workers in the Quinn Group and the local economy.”

“Unite’s view is that the QBRC consortium’s proposals are the only firm and realistic proposals currently on the table,” Mr McGlone said.

The board of Aventas has asked QBRC to show it how it intends to finance any bid for the group before entering any detailed discussions.

Aventas has five manufacturing divisions from glass to cement which were originally build up by businessman Seán Quinn.

The conglomerate recently began a process which could lead to the sale of its packaging division.