Cavan Crystal, which has been in receivership since last August, has been acquired as a going concern by a group of Monaghan and Cavan-based businessmen for in excess of £1 million.

The agreement was signed last Friday by a local solicitor, Mr Gerry Jones, of Carrickmacross, acting in trust for the group, and the receiver, Mr Padraic Monaghan of KPMG.

The group of investors, comprising two family groups, intend to revive the business as a going concern, according to Mr Monaghan. However, a detailed business plan for the continued operation of Cavan Crystal has yet to be drawn up after the deal was concluded over 48 hours last week. An official announcement on the operation is expected to made tomorrow. Cavan Crystal has ceased manufacturing crystal products but its shop, situated on a 2.5-acre site, outside Cavan town, has continued trading. The deal includes the acquisition of an incomplete two-storey Georgian-style heritage centre. The total area, including manufacturing, is over 55,000 sq ft.

Mr Jones said the price paid by the Cavan/Monaghan consortium was over £1 million but less than the £1.45 million agreed as part of a failed rescue package when the company was in examinership last summer.

"Included in the sale is some stock, goodwill and the name," Mr Jones said.

Cavan Crystal has had a troubled history. An examiner was appointed last April but the company lost the protection of the court in July when a rescue bid mounted by a group of Irish investors and an English company, Bonaire, fell apart due to differences between the investors. Last May, a former managing director of the company, Mr Brian Williams, received a six-month suspended sentence for falsifying the accounts in order to pay wages.