KITCHEN firm Magnet, one of the biggest employers in Darlington, is poised to be sold to a Swedish company in a multi-million pound deal.

Europe's largest kitchen manufacturing group, Nobia, has agreed to buy Magnet from parent company Enodis for £134m.

The sale comprises the whole group, including its 227 retail outlets in the UK, its manufacturing sites in Darlington, Keighley, Penrith and Flint, and the bathroom and kitchen business CP Hart.

Managers hailed the announcement as good news for Magnet and promised that jobs are safe, including the 453 positions in Darlington.

Magnet managing director Gary Favell said: "Nobia is a highly successful, fast growing organisation, which is focused on the products and markets in which we operate.

"Joining the group will give Magnet the investment, support and commitment needed to continue to grow and develop as the leading brand in the UK."

He said there were no plans to change the running of the business, which will keep the name Magnet, and the management team will also remain.

The Darlington factory was involved in one of Britain's longest running disputes when the company sacked 320 workers in 1996.

They were dismissed during a strike over pay and conditions, which led to a bitter 19-month dispute. It ended in 1998 when the workers accepted a settlement.

Shirley Winter, who set up the Magnet Women's Support Group, said she believed continuing negative publicity over the strike had contributed to the decision to sell.

"We had no redress in British law, unlike the rest of Europe, and the only way we had to fight that injustice was to tarnish the name of that company."

But Enodis bosses said the sale had nothing to do with the dispute, and was because it wanted to concentrate on its core food equipment business.

Enodis said it expects to make a net profit of £25m on the sale, which has to be approved by shareholders. This will be used to repay bank debt.

Nobia is a company from Stockholm, Sweden, manufacturing a range of kitchen furniture in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany under brands such as Poggenpohl.