Tuesday February 15, 2011

FRP appointed following administration of food manufacturing companies

PoleStar Foods Limited and Okehampton Desserts Limited, the Okehampton based suppliers of own-label desserts and Heinz branded products, entered into administration on 4 February 2011 with the appointment of Joint Administrators, Phil Armstrong and Nick O’Reilly, Partners at FRP.

PoleStar Foods Limited and Okehampton Desserts Limited were acquired by Privet Capital in November last year, when the companies were facing imminent collapse.

Commenting on the administration, Phil Armstrong said: “PoleStar Foods and Okehampton Desserts have been in difficulties since their formation in December 2009 and, indeed, the Companies were struggling under their previous ownership. Unfortunately, the restructuring of the business was not sufficient to ultimately solve the Companies’ cashflow problems.

“The Companies unfortunately did not represent a viable purchase as a going-concern. The Directors, therefore, sadly had to make 232 employees at the Okehampton site redundant on Tuesday, 1 February, prior to our appointment. Our employee specialists, together with a local Job Centre team, will be on-site this week to advise all staff members on their best route back into employment and assist with their claims from the Redundancy Payments Office.

“We are now working towards an outcome where a buyer can be found for the operation, in the hope that some staff can be re-employed under new ownership.”

Phil Armstrong, Partner at FRP and Joint Administrator to PoleStar Foods Limited and Okehampton Desserts Limited, provides the following update: “Following the formal bid process, only one viable offer was received and we concluded a sale of the plant, machinery and freehold to Devonshire Desserts Limited on Tuesday 15 February.”