A supermarket potato supplier has collapsed after the loss of a major contract, with 90 staff made redundant.
Yorkshire-based M&F Ltd supplied peeled, chipped and sliced potatoes from its factory near Hull and generated revenues of £9m.
The business, which processed more than 100,000 tonnes of potatoes and other root vegetables a year, appointed administrators from recovery firm Begbies Traynor on 13 March after losing a “significant” customer.
“The business was trading well, despite tight margins in the sector, prior to the loss of one major contract,” said joint administrator Andrew MacKenzie.
“It was clear very quickly that without the same level of revenue the business had no way to cover its costs, and, unfortunately, the doors had been closed on 10 March before our appointment. Our early investigations concluded that without the company’s main customer, which was responsible for the majority of the revenue for the business, there was no alternative to keeping the business closed to prevent liabilities rising.”
M&F’s assets, including processing machinery, trucks and general office equipment, will be sold by auctioneer Eddisons.
The processor was planning the development of a £4.4m anaerobic digestion plant on a site behind its factory in a bid to cut waste costs and generate an additional £400k of revenues.
“We are hopeful there will be interested parties who may want to operate the plant again, and will acquire the site as it is ready to go and has a readily available local workforce,” MacKenzie added.
“The potential for the waste plant, with all permissions secured, make this potentially attractive for trade buyers, too.
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