Once the dust has settled on chilled foods group Greencore's acquisition of Uniq, the future of Minsterley is likely to become clearer.
Minsterley has already lost around 500 jobs following a restructuring of Uniq's operations. And with the facility set to withdraw from the production of everyday desserts to concentrate on premium products, City commentators continue to question its long-term viability and the prospects for the factory's 100 remaining staff who are rattling around in a site that is too large for its current needs.
The facility can possibly be given a future with investment under Greencore's ownership. Sources have suggested that this is necessary to bring the plant up to the latest production standards. But, that's a big if, especially in this uncertain economic environment.
In its final half-year trading statement, Uniq announced: "Positive progress was made in the sales of premium desserts, reflecting the more favourable market dynamics of this sub-sector, while the sales of Cadbury chocolate desserts were flat.
The loss of £1.1M from desserts compared with a £1.8M loss for the same period in 2010.