Shareholders in a company which employs about 300 people in Cumbria have voted in favour of a proposed takeover.

Engineering consultancy Amec Foster Wheeler - which has offices in Westlakes Science & Technology Park, near Whitehaven, and at Sellafield as well as staff based at the BAE Systems submarine yard in Barrow - is now set to be taken over by Aberdeen-based John Wood Group.

Under the court meeting, 90.73 per cent of votes cast by Amec shareholders supported the deal with 9.27 per cent against. At the general meeting the vote was result saw 99.92 per cent in favour with only 0.08 per cent against.

The Competition & Markets Authority still has to approve the deal. The hearing must also be sanctioned by a court, this is expected to happen in the fourth quarter of the year.

In March the firm announced the £2.2bn takeover and this will see Amec's shareholders have a 44 per cent stake of the combined operation.

The deal though is unlikely to affect Amec's Cumbrian operations, which deal mainly with nuclear projects, including in Sellafield and Barrow, as this part of the company is up for sale. A deal on this is expected to be completed in the third quarter.