Regional development agency (RDA) One North East says the potential benefits of awarding administration-hit Longbenton Foods a £2.49m grant in 2009 outweighed the "threat of failure".
Longbenton Foods has denied claims made by some staff at its Benton Lane frozen ready meals factory in Longbenton, Newcastle Upon Tyne, that they have not yet been paid in full for their services in January.
Greggs has unveiled ambitious expansion plans, submitting a planning application for a new bakery in Wiltshire and securing permission to build a new bakery in Penrith and a replacement bakery in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The first round of redundancies at Twinings’ North Shields factory has been delayed until February 2011, having originally been due to start this September.
