Staff at DBC Foodservice are owed more than £3m in redundancy pay and wages following the company’s collapse in March.

Between 700 employees a total of £3,178,784 is owed. They are entitled to a basic minimum from the government’s national insurance fund, so the amount represents the shortfall between what the government will pay them and their entitlement. Their employees’ claim is treated as non-preferential, and they are unlikely to be paid in full.

DBC also owed trade creditors £49.8m according to the creditors report by administrators Baker Tilly, which lists 1,247 who were left out of pocket. Refrigerated unit company Petit Forestier was owed £9.2m in total, Vestey £2.6m and red meat supplier Dunbia £1.2m.

DBC’s pension scheme also had a £40m deficit, although employees are be protected by the government’s pension protection fund. In total, unsecured creditors are owed £92m.

DBC recorded a £5m loss on sales of £302m in the year to 25 March 2011. In the 11 months to 24 February 2012 its losses had run to £6m while sales had fallen to £286m, the report reveals.

Baker Tilly held talks with 23 interested parties during the sales process, which saw Brakes pay £300,000 to acquire rights to serve some of DBC’s larger accounts. Vestey paid £188,000 to take over DBC’s contract with the MoD. A sales process for DBC’s four freehold depots continues.

“The likelihood of a distribution to unsecured creditors is very much dependent upon the level of realisations of the company’s property and debtor ledger,” the administrators said.

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