Distillery to be wound up with all jobs lost
Stricken Leicestershire distillery Union Distillers is to be wound up with all jobs lost, administrators have confirmed.
Simon Stibbons and Geoffrey Rowley of FRP Advisory were named as joint administrators of the Market Harborough producer on Friday (21 April) before being appointed to handle the affairs of its parent company, The British Honey Company Plc, on Tuesday (25 April).
Union Distillers produced a range of gins, vodkas and rums, as well as an absinthe and an espresso vodka liqueur, under the “Two Birds” brand. It was acquired by Oxfordshire-based British Honey in 2021.
A decline in sales and key customer contracts coming to an end meant the distillery was no longer able to meet its financial obligations, the administrators said.
Stibbons and Rowley attempted to find a buyer for the firm following its collapse, but there were no interested parties. They have now commenced winding down operations – a process that is due to complete in mid-May – with all staff being made redundant.
Simon Stibbons, partner at FRP and administrator of Union Distillers Limited, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “Union Distillers had been trading since 2012 and introduced a new simplified business model to drive sales through more bespoke and no-alcohol brands. However, changes to some of its key client contracts resulted in a decrease in sales and, without sufficient working capital, Union could no longer trade.
“We’d encourage any interested parties to come forward and speak to us. We will continue to work with the impacted staff to make sure they access the appropriate support through the Redundancy Payments Service.”
