A prominent West Yorkshire businessperson is believed to be behind an eleventh-hour bid for troubled Guiseley pram firm Silver Cross which is threatened with closure.

Emergency talks have been held over the last few days with the well-known business figure in a bid to save the firm.

But if the rescue package fails the company could end up being put in the hands of administrators who would sell it or might have to close Silver Cross, putting all its 100 workers on the dole. Bosses from the company were helped to stave off a bid by creditors to put the 122-year-old firm in the hands of administrators at Bradford County Court last week, thanks to an offer on the table from the businessperson.

A spokesman for the company, which laid off its entire workforce nearly two weeks ago said today that the takeover offer gave bosses Harry Moore and Sarah Bird the breathing space they needed to keep talking.

She said: "The offer allowed the company seven days to come up with a rescue package and we will know the result of that later today.

"I cannot say who the businessperson is, whether they are a man or a woman. I can say they are not in the pram business and they are from West Yorkshire."

The firm went through a £4 million re-launch last August when it won £1.5 million in refinancing from Venture Finance of West Sussex.

Silver Cross has been a major employer in Guiseley for almost 70 years and has sold prams to royalty, pop and film stars.

A radical revamp of the business was unveiled to an international market and complete with new logo and pram and pushchair designs, bosses were hopeful the £4 million relaunch would help bolster the company's flagging fortunes.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.